Feb 26 (AM) Police Chief N.K. Illangakoon said that investigations into allegations against former Minister Tissa Attanayake over the forged documents created during the January Presidential Election has been completed. He said the suspects were arrested and the files had been handed over to the Attorney Generals’ Department for legal action. Investigations were conducted by the CID into four main crimes, including more..

Feb 26 (AD) The Court of Appeal granted more time for the Attorney General’s Department to submit a comprehensive report with respect to the Writ Application filed against Kumaran Pathmanathan (KP). The AG informed Justice A.H.M.D. Nawaz and Justice Vijith Malalgoda that the AG department needs more time to examine the cases filed against the accused who was one time LTTE’s arms procurement wing leader and ‘international secretariat’. more..

Feb 26 (FNA) Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Morteza Sarmadi announced Tehran's readiness for completion of underway projects as well as inking new contracts and implementing different ventures in Sri Lanka. Sarmadi made the remarks in a meeting with Sri Lankan outgoing Ambassador to Tehran Mohammad Feisal Razin on Wednesday. During the meeting, Sarmadi appreciated the efforts the ambassador made during his tenure to promote bilateral ties, and expressed hope that more..

Feb 26 (AD) An inquest into the mysterious death of former national rugby player Wasim Thajudeen has been initiated following the emergence of new information with respect to the case in the recent past, SSP Ajith Rohana said. GA’s Department investigation, which moved at snail’s pace due to unknown reasons on this case, was concluded on 12 Feb. CID is now investigating the case upon a directive made by IGP more..

Feb 26 (AM) Opposition Leader Nimal Siripala de Silver yesterday slammed at NFF Leader Wimal Weerawansa for stating former President Mahinda Rajapaksa should be the Prime Ministerial Candidate of the UPFA. “The NFF is not even a constituent party of the UPFA. It only contested under the UPFA ticket at some elections,” the Opposition Leader said during a political talk show last night, when asked about Weerawasna’s claims on Prime Ministerial Candidate of UPFA. more..

Feb 26 (AT) Ambassador Amunugama met State Secretary Markus Ederer at the Federal Foreign Office today (23) to brief him on steps that have been taken by the current Govt to establish good governance, national reconciliation as well as strengthening democratic institutions and rule of law in Sri Lanka. In reply, State Secretary Ederer stated that the positive developments in Sri Lanka were observed keenly by the German Govt. State Secretary Ederer conveyed that his more..

Feb 26 (DM) Minister Rajitha Senaratna charged the Police was deliberately focusing action against those who had committed minor offences to create disappointment towards the govt. He said the priority should have been given to take action against those who were responsible for large scale corruption and committed major offences. “Wele Suda revealed that a former IGP and an MP were involved in his heroin more..

Feb 26 (DM) Six Buddhist monks, who allegedly stormed Minister Rishad Bathiudeen’s office in Colombo 2 during the tenure of the previous govt, have been noticed to be present in Court on March 12. They are alleged to have stormed into the building in search of Ven. Watareka Vijitha Thera. Kollupitiya Police told the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court that they had identified the six Buddhist monks who were involved in the incident and said they had recorded their statements. more..

Feb 26 (AD) Professor Rajiva Wijesinghe says that he was asked by PM Ranil Wickramasinghe to read a book titled ‘Art of the Possible’, when he explained to the latter regarding his concerns and the inability to continue serving as the State Minister for Higher Education. Prof. Wijesinghe, who has openly his displeasure over certain decisions made in the Higher Education Ministry without his consult, has tendered his resignation from the ministerial portfolio in the wake of sacking of UGC Chairperson more..

Feb 26 (AFP) SL's new govt slammed the police for dragging their feet over high-profile cases including the murders of journalists and corruption under the previous regime. Law and Order Minister John Amaratunga demanded concrete action on high-profile cases as he publicly rebuked the head of the police force for failing to investigate the 2009 killing of prominent anti-establishment editor Lasantha Wickrematunga, more..

Feb 26 (Island) Approximately 2,000 new leprosy patients had been reported in the country every year for the last ten years, Anti-Leprosy Campaign Coordinator Dr. Mrs. Kushalya Kasturiarachchi disclosed at a media briefing. Dr. Mrs. Kasturiarachchi said around 41 per cent of leprosy cases had been reported from the Western province, 931 patients up to Nov 2015. The highest number of cases was from the Colombo District, 464 cases reported in 2014, she said. more..

Feb 26 (CT) State sector employees yesterday received the highest salary increase since Independence, making it a historic day, Deputy Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva said. "An average basic salary will be Rs 11,730. An allowance of Rs 25,040 will be added, and an extra Rs 5,000 will amount to Rs 30,000 making up the total income," Dr. de Silva said. He added, govt was also keen on improving the livelihood of the State sector and the steps that the govt has taken to correct more..

Feb 26 (CI) Sri Lanka have finally made themselves heard, 12 days into the World Cup. Dilshan and Sangakkara did most of the talking through their bats, hammering unbeaten centuries that set up a 92-run win over Bangladesh at the MCG. Bangladesh were bowled out for 240 inside 47 overs after they once again shuffled the batting line-up, leaving Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim with too much to do. more..

Feb 26 (EN) Sri Lankan stocks closed marginally higher Thursday buoyed by gains in financial firms in which there was interest, especially Commercial Credit & Finance (COCR) which rose almost eight percent with foreign buying. The benchmark All Share Price Index ended at 7,317.44, gaining 12.83 points (0.2%) while S&P SL 20 index, edged up 3.06 points (0.07%) to close at 4,122.28. Turnover was 1.4 billion rupees with crossings or off-the-floor negotiated deals in more..

Feb 26 (DM) National Freedom Front (NFF) today urged the govt to set up a special prison to imprison white-collar criminals convicted of looting and abusing public resources. NFF national organiser Jayantha Samaraweera said despite the Govt claiming it would punish all fraudsters and looters, some well-known fraudsters were still at large. He said new laws must be introduced if the prevailing laws were not sufficient to punish those who had robbed this country. more..

Feb 26 (DM) Former Police Media Spokesman Prishantha Jayakody, who arrived from Australia a short while ago, claimed that he fled the country because of threats byformer Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and some of his henchmen. He said he was compelled to leave under political pressure and fears for his life. “I served as Police Media Spokesman and as SSP in Ratnapura but I had to leave more..

Feb 26 (Island) Catholic Bishops' Conference has decided to distribute Rs 8.7 mn made available by Pope Francis among 12 Dioceses to meet the needs of the poor. Rev Father Cyril Fernando said that the money would be allocated, depending on the requirements. Asked whether the money would be distributed equally among the 12 Dioceses, Rev. Fernando said that no such decision had been made. On a request by Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith countrywide churches engaged in a major more..

Feb 26 (PTI) Sri Lanka's new sports minister Navin Dissanayake has been urged to order a probe into a match-fixing incident involving an Indian player during the Asia Cup tournament held in the country in June 2010. Shammi Silva, a member of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) executive committee, in his letter dated February 20 and addressed to Dissanayake, stated that an Indian player was involved in match-fixing during tournament held in Dambulla. India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh were the more..

Feb 26 (EN) Sri Lanka's new govt has appointed a team of experts to probe misuse of state machinery and media by ousted president Mahinda Rajapaksa in the presidential poll campaign. The special committee to "expeditiously investigate" complaints, made up of experts with legal, administration, election, fiscal and investigation skills, are to recommend legal and disciplinary action within two months, more..

Feb 26 (CI) 400: Number of ODIs Sangakkara has now played in his career - he becomes only the fourth player and the third from Sri Lanka to do so. Jayasuirya, Tendulkar and Mahela are the other players to achieve this. 161*: Runs Tillakaratne Dilshan scored in this match - the highest by a Sri Lanka batsman in the World Cup beating Aravinda de Silva's 145 against Kenya in 1996. Dilshan's score is also the fourth highest by a Sri Lanka batsman in ODIs. more..

Feb 26 (CI) There were several dropped catches, but the spill in Sri Lanka's 42nd over and its aftermath verged on farce. Sangakkara cut a ball straight to Mominul Haque at point, but though the ball came at chest height, Mominul couldn't hold on. He then became aware of a run-out chance at the bowler's end however, and he shied at the stumps unsuccessfully, only to find there was no one backing up. Taskin Ahmed at long on had his attention elsewhere and didn't see the ball more..

Feb 26 (DM) Railway passengers would be able to enjoy free Wi-Fi at selected 100 railway stations in the country by April. “We are going to begin this programme next week from Fort Railway Station. By April, there will be almost 100 railway stations with free internet access which lets rail passengers go online via smart phones or tablets free of charge,” Railway Commercial Superintendent Sisira Kumara said. more..

Feb 26 (Island) Army Commander Lt. Gen. Crishantha de Silva yesterday paid a glowing tribute to Corporal A. M. Sudesh Lalinda of Sinha Regiment (Third Battalion) who had risked his life and limb to rescue a Dutch national named Martin Lawrence Kruf (35), who fell off World’s End at Horton Plains last Saturday. The Army headquarters invited Lalinda’s wife, Nirosha Maduwanthie for the joyous occasion when her Corporal husband was promoted to the rank of Sergeant. more..

Feb 26 (EN) Capital adequacy floors for key Sri Lanka banks may be raised by the regulator, and the reported capital ratios of lenders did not fully reflect the risks of some loans, Fitch Ratings has said. Fitch Ratings said report capital adequacy ratios were higher than the 5% for core and 10% with second tier capital, and they were mostly of the core capital. Central Bank is likely to bring additional capital requirements for systemically important banks, Fitch said, under Basel III rules, Fitch Rating said. more..

Feb 26 (CT) As a public proponent of the Right to Information (RTI), I support the enactment of Right to Information Act. The comments below are intended to improve the legislation, caution against over-reach, and make the law easier to implement effectively. I applaud the call for comments published in the newspapers on 23 Feb 2015 which is very much in the spirit of RTI. I have based my comments on the draft Right to Information bill (LDO 24/2003), downloaded from Manthri.lk. more..

Feb 26 (CT) Fisher poaching deprives the livelihood of indigenous fishermen. As poaching is illegal, ipso facto, it needs to be stopped. Universally, fisher poaching is considered an illegal activity. The reason why the EU has placed a ban on Sri Lanka's fish exports to that region is because of alleged poaching by Sri Lankan fishers. Yesterday, this newspaper reported of an arrest of 19 Sri Lankan fishermen for poaching in Indian waters. That arrest is justifiable because poaching is illegal. more..

Feb 26 (CT) The National Executive Council (NEC) which met on Tuesday has decided to appoint a special presidential commission to investigate large scale corruption and fraud. It was subject to discussion at this meeting that it has still not been possible to find out how many large scale development schemes have been launched by the previous govt. It was stated here that foreign countries have agreed to provide copies of more..

Feb 26 (CG) SLMC says real peace can be experienced in Sri Lanka only once a political solution is presented. SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem said that while the war has ended there needs to be a political solution which meets the needs of all communities. Hakeem said this when he met a high level South African delegation in Colombo led by SA’s International Relations Deputy Minister Nomaindia Mfeketo. more..

Feb 26 (CT) It has been revealed at the meeting of the National Executive Council (NEC) held on Tuesday, that documents relevant to the first agreement signed between the Sri Lankan and Iranian Govts in connection with the multi-purpose development scheme of Uma Oya, have disappeared. Project was launched with assistance from the Govt of Iran and its development work was later temporarily suspended. more..

Feb 26 (AD) Former Police Media Spokesman SSP Prishantha Jayakody, who left for Australia in 2013 after alleging unduly political pressure during his execution of police duties, is set to return to the country today. He is reportedly scheduled to make a special disclosure after returning to the island. Prishantha Jayakody is to hold a special press conference this afternoon and will make the exposé at the event, more..

Feb 26 (Island) China's new ambassador to Sri Lanka Yi Xianliang vowed to pursue the finalisation of a Strategic Cooperative Partnership between the two countries, which was discussed during President Xi Jinping's official visit to Colombo last September. Xianliang who arrived on Tuesday, emphasised that he was committed to implementing the agreements that had been reached during Jinping's historic visit and also pursuing the more..

Feb 26 (DN) The Tamil community is confident that a National Govt to be formed after the next Parliamentary Election will resolve the ethnic issue within two years, TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran said. He said that President Maithripala Sirisena during his Presidential Election campaign had promised to resolve the ethnic issue within two years under a National Govt. "From the way this Govt acts we are confident that the present govt is sincere and more..

Feb 26 (Lords) Sri Lankan pair have received the honour in recognition of their achievements during playing careers that spanned nearly 800 international matches. Opening bowler Vaas took 355 wickets from 111 Tests at an average of 29.58. He has an unbeaten Test century to his name and averaged 24.32 with the bat in the five-day game. Vaas was a ODI stalwart, taking 400 wickets from 322 matches at an average of 27.53. more..

Feb 26 (Island) The JVP urged the electorate not to be deceived by UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa’s political gimmicks. MP Premadasa had been trying to outshine his ministerial colleagues by declaring that he was serving the people without even receiving a monthly salary, the JVP said. Having declared in Kurunegala recently that the govt saved Rs. 357,000 a month as he had refused to accept his salary as well as more..

Feb 26 (ST) When the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (Amendment) Act was taken up in Parliament for debate on Tuesday, both Govt and Opposition legislators welcomed the new laws to impose heavy fines on those violating international fishing regulations. The EU-IUU (Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated) fishing ban which was announced on Oct 14 last year, came into force three months later on Jan 14 this year. more..