Mar 1 (CG) The domestic investigation into some of the allegations over the war will not be completed by September and only the structure and laws will be in place before that, Deputy Foreign Minister Ajith Perera said. Perera said that it will be difficult to complete the legal process before the September session of the UNHRC. UNHRC had earlier agreed to defer a report on Sri Lanka which was to be submitted to the Council during more..

Mar 1 (CI) Sri Lanka made a chase of 310 seem like a weekend stroll in the park as Kumar Sangakkara unfurled a majestic hundred, his second of the tournament, alongside Lahiru Thirimanne's fourth ODI ton. They ensured Joe Root's hundred became merely a footnote and left England facing two must-win matches to make the quarter-finals. The pair added 212 for the second wicket in 28.2 overs with Sangakkara more..

Mar 1 (SL) A group of MPs, who fear that they will not receive nominations for the upcoming General Elections by the SLFP or the UPFA, are planning on forming a separate political party to contest the elections. It has also been revealed that the political leaders of certain parties in the UPFA alliance have held secret meetings in this regard. Accordingly it has been decided to nominate former president Rajapaksa as leader of this group. more..

Mar 1 (ST) Indian-based Krrish Group has indicated that it’s committed to working with the new Sri Lankan govt on the long delayed controversial multimillion Krrish Transworks Tower project in Colombo Fort. Representatives of the company met BOI Chairman Upul Jayasuriya on Monday. Mr. Jayasuriya said that Krrish representatives have given an assurance that the company will pay the due Rs.589.7 million more..

Mar 1 (ST) Election Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya said it would be useful to establish a Media Regulatory Commission to standardise State and private media and prevent political parties from conducting propaganda campaigns before and after elections. Mr Deshapriya was speaking at a meeting organised by Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) at the BMICH on Wednesday, to discuss Electoral Integrity, more..

Mar 1 (Guardian) British-based travel agencies are among the European holiday firms criticised in a report that alleges tourism development in Sri Lanka is prompting new human rights abuses. Large-scale tourism developments since the end of the civil war six years ago have had disastrous effects on local communities, including cases of fishermen losing their access to the sea and allegations of land grabbing by military, more..

Mar 1 (NS) With many of the main objectives listed in the 100-Day program of the govt now running into unforeseen delays, senior figures in the govt have become more cautious regarding meeting targeted deadlines that had been set earlier. According to the 100-Day program, this month is set to be an extremely busy one for the govt. On March 2, new election laws are due to be introduced while amendments to a change in more..

Mar 1 (Island) Asking the people to be patient, Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe assured that all corrupt politicians and officials will be brought before the law and punitive action initiated for any wrong-doing. "There is no delay in dealing with those in the previous govt accused of bribery and corruption. They will be hauled before the court of justice", he said in an interview with Ths Sunday Island during more..

Mar 1 (CT) The SLFP said they will not support the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which is to be presented to the Parliament in the second week of March, if the Amendment was finalized without the SLFP's consent. National Organizer of the SLFP, Susil Premajayantha told Ceylon Today that the government is preparing to obtain their support and give Ranil Wickremesinghe the post of Prime Minister. more..

Mar 1 (ST) This week, a retired Inland Revenue chief, now a consultant to a law firm opened not so long ago by a young VIP lawyer MP under his own name, trudged all the way to the southern town of Matara to open a tax file for the young lawyer — no longer a VIP but an MP nevertheless. Probably anticipating an investigation, the first thing detectives do is to go into a suspect’s tax file; so one must have a file in the first place. more..

Mar 1 (CT) Colombo takes delivery of yet another dead body from the Middle-East. This time it was a case of a woman who had been assaulted and murdered in Kuwait, according to yesterday's edition of this newspaper. The article, quoting the police, said that officials will liaise with Kuwaiti authorities concerning the murder. That however, is small solace to the victim's family. Remittances are Sri Lanka's biggest foreign exchange (FX) earner. It's mainly sent by the island's women slaving more..

Mar 1 (Island) The north and south are different again. The SLFP and the UNP are uneasily cohabiting in the current parliament. The minority UNP is running the govt and the majority SLFP is constrained to go along with it. The situation is unprecedented and unusual, but not undemocratic or unconstitutional. The constraint on the SLFP is a democratic extension of the January 8 presidential election in which the incumbent president and then leader of the SLFP, Mahinda Rajapaksa, more..

Mar 1 (ST) Govt this week crossed the half way mark of its 100-day programme to fulfil promises made to the people during the campaign for the presidential election. Ironically that milestone has arrived with some election assurances remaining unfulfilled and was to take a turn for the worse on Thursday. Two major partners in the rainbow coalition — UNP & SLFP — failed to reach accord on impending constitutional changes more..

Mar 1 (NS) “While some of the promises made in the 100-Day program are nowhere near being delivered, authorities are more concerned about arresting an innocent lady, even as many of the real culprits have already left the country,” lamented Ven. Maduluwawe Sobhitha Thera of the NMJS. Ven. Sobitha Thera pointed out that 55 days in the 100-Day program have already passed, but many of those wanted in connection of various offences are still running free. more..

Mar 1 (CT) Whatever decision taken by the govt, on Colombo Port City Project, would have no impact on Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs), since decisions will be taken rationally, Deputy Minister Eran Wickremeratne said. Responding to a query on whether there will be any impact on FDIs if the govt scraps Port City Project, Wickremeratne made it clear that there would not be any negative impact on FDIs as the decision will be taken based on the facts about impacts on FDIs as the decision more..

Mar 1 (ST) A record number of nearly 2,000 diplomatic passports were issued by the previous administration to everyone from presidential advisers, clergy and doctors and to ministers, deputy ministers, coordinating secretaries and boundless numbers of children. In most other countries, diplomatic passports are issued under strict guidelines to limited categories of senior State employees. more..

Mar 1 (SL) The Special Investigations Unit of the Department of Immigration and Emigration has notified 20 foreigners, who have arrived in the country on tourist visas and are currently engaged in business ventures and employment, to report to the Department tomorrow. These foreign nationals, 10 Chinese, six Russians, two Ukraine nationals and another two from Australia and Italy, were apprehended by the immigration officials on Feb 27 in the Hikkaduwa area. more..

Mar 1 (NS) The construction of the allegedly illegal Nayaganga hydropower plant will be allowed to continue unless the Department of Wild Life Conservation intervenes, according to Minister of Power and Energy Champika Ranawaka. This is despite the Ministry of Mahaweli Development and Environment, promising to protect forest reserves while also identifying areas that are currently in danger of being destroyed, a clear violation of the pledges in the Ministry’s 100 Day Program. more..

Mar 1 (ST) Govt has cancelled fishing licences given to eight Chinese companies to fish in international waters under the Sri Lankan flag, after they were found to have violated the agreements, Fisheries Minister Joseph Michael Perera said. ”The main reason was that they have violated the terms and conditions we have agreed upon in a MoU signed by both parties,” he said. The Chinese companies had failed to provide more..

Mar 1 (ST) Nearly two months after it was promised, the 15% special interest rate for deposits by senior citizens was finally accepted by all SL commercial banks from Thursday, officials said. Business Times was in the forefront of a plea by elder citizens to enforce this budget proposal. Treasury intends to subsidise the banks on this account. “The differential between the existing fixed deposits rate for seniors and the newly imposed 15% will be subsidised by the Treasury,” Upali de Silva, more..

Mar 1 (SO) TNA MP for Batticaloa S. Yogeswaran roundly condemned sections of the Tamil diaspora community who burnt party leader R. Sampanthan’s effigy in London. He said that the TNA leadership cannot act according to the dictates of the diaspora community on every issue relating to Sri Lankan Tamils. Sections of the diaspora community burnt the effigy of R. Sampanthan together with that of party frontliner M.A. Sumanthiran opposite the US embassy in London as a protest against more..

Mar 1 (Island) The BMICH, which was ordered to pay Rs. 180 million as compensation by the Colombo District Court, says the institution is cash strapped and funds will have to be raised from elsewhere to pay Dr. Samitha Samanmali. "With an annual turnover of Rs. 200 million, we will have to borrow money to pay the compensation awarded by court", says Mallika Karunaratne, BMICH’s Director-General. She said that when she received more..

Mar 1 (Island) The interim report of the probe into alleged irregularities and abuse of power by the management of SriLankan Airlines is expected by March 15. The final report of the committee headed by senior lawyer J.C. Weliamuna and three others is due on March 30. The spokesman said the committee is "completely independent and totally free of political interference - so much so we cannot even comment on the progress of the investigation." Weliamuna said that the investigations are more..

Mar 1 (ST) India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will arrive in Colombo on Friday to set the stage for the visit to Sri Lanka by Indian PM Narendra Modi on March 13. During her two-day stay, Ms. Swaraj will meet PM Ranil Wickremesinghe and Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera. PM Modi is scheduled to arrive here on March 13 for a three-day official visit, the first by an Indian PM since 1987. She is scheduled to travel to Jaffna, Anuradhapura and Kandy more..

Mar 1 (NS) ‘Implementing the reform agenda is more important than being fixated about deadlines,’ Minister and JHU General Secretary Champika Ranawaka insisted. Sole representative of the JHU in the Cabinet opined that the two major parties, UNP and SLFP can and must reach an agreement on this soon. ‘Thrust of the mandate obtained from the people on Jan 8 is to institute reforms including effecting changes more..

Mar 1 (FN) Sri Lankan housemaids have more opportunities in the UAE due to the shortage of housemaids in the market. Now more Sri Lankan housemaids are coming to the UAE, a Sri Lankan official said. Of an estimated 300,000 Sri Lankans in the UAE, 55 per cent of them are in lower rung jobs- many of them are housemaids, said the official who did not want to be named. Sri Lankan Govt has imposed a minimum salary of Dh800 for female domestic helps in the UAE. more..

Mar 1 (NS) A group of rugby enthusiasts have submitted a dossier on the current administration of the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union (SLRFU) to the anti-corruption watchdog the JVP which has pledged to bring the matter before an investigation. Among the points raised in the petition are on what criteria was Yoshitha Rajapaksa selected to captain the Sri Lanka team ahead of several other senior players and the conversion of two Fijians into Sri Lankans to play for the National team more..

Mar 1 (ST) Spending Rs. 36 million in a year on overseas promotional roadshows, donating Rs. 4 million for Namal Rajapaksa’s Tharunyata Hetak political youth scheme and Rs.5 million on promoting the Govt’s 20-20 vision! This is only the tip of the iceberg in unnecessary spending at the SEC during the tenure of former chairman Nalaka Godahewa. SEC sources said that the organisation should never have got involved in funding more..

Mar 1 (NS) The legal system of Sri Lanka should be changed so it doesn’t take six years for a disabled person to receive compensation for injuries caused to them, Dr. Samitha Samanmali told The Nation. “Not everyone has the strength to fight for a long period like six years,” she added.Due to the collapse of a shelter at a Dayata Kirula exhibition held at the BMICH in 2008, the then medical student Samitha Samanmali became paralyzed after being injured. However, the Colombo District Court, more..

Mar 1 (ST) Bajaj Auto RE60, India’s first quadricycle, an alternative to the 3-wheeler, will not be permitted to ply on Sri Lankan roads, Motor Traffic Department (MTD) head said. MTD has rejected the application submitted by the local agent of India’s Bajaj Auto company to market this low priced vehicle in the island, Commissioner General of Motor Traffic S.H. Harischandra said. Department refused the entry of these Indian-made quadricycles, mainly due to passenger safety issues. more..

Mar 1 (ST) While a former minister’s wife was busy recruiting staff for the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) the institution’s head was allegedly misusing state funds, ongoing investigations have revealed. New recruits at the SLTPB numbering almost 100 interviewed by a former powerful minister’s wife have been discontinued. Deputy Minister Wasantha Senanayake said that they had found out that nearly 100 persons more..

Mar 1 (Island) Additional Solicitor General Yasantha Kodagoda was appointed a President’s Counsel by President Maithripala Sirisena recently. An illustrious Old Boy of Ananda College, Colombo, Kodagoda completed his legal education at the Sri Lanka Law College and earned his Postgraduate degree from the University College London (UCL), UK. He joined the Attorney General’s Department as a State Counsel in February 1989 and later obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Forensic Medicine more..

Mar 1 (Island) Further to the news item that appeared in certain newspapers saying ‘Sri Lanka were unhappy with World Cup Scheduling’, Sri Lanka Cricket has sent the following statement: ‘SLC has sought the views from the Team Manager who stated that the writer (of the said article) has quoted him accurately when he has said, ‘It would have been nice to have finished New Zealand before coming to Australia… It certainly is inconvenient. It’s tiring for the boys too. more..

Mar 1 (Island) Central Bank will be moving the Supreme Court to take over the management of the failed Golden Key and formulate a mechanism to reimburse depositors, a high-ranking official said. "We will be appealing to the SC through the AG’s Department next week to acquire the operations of this company, which collapsed in 2008", he said. Fundamental Rights (FR) plea filed by a group of GK depositors will resume more..

Mar 1 (NS) Spokesperson for the FUTA, staunch supporter of the Maithripala regime and shrill advocate of good governance Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri posed a question to certain individuals on Facebook. He wants to know what they think are the political meanings of a political force Wimal Wererawansa, Dayan Jayatilleka and Vasudeva Nanayakkara are putting together with Mahinda Rajapaksa as leader (”විමල් වීරවංශ, දයාන් ජයතිලක සහ වාසුදේව නානායක්කාර යන more..

Mar 1 (NS) SLFP is presently experiencing what the UNP went through for nearly 20 years when it was in the opposition. A section of SLFP members, especially some representatives of the grassroots level, are on a feverish mission to bring ‘Mahinda’ back to lead the General Election Campaign of the SLFP as its PM Candidate. A group of PS members of the Ratnapura District have threatened to step down from politics, if the party fails to make Mahinda the Prime Ministerial Candidate. more..