June 19 (Reuters) Shares fell to a two-month low in light trade on Friday led by banking shares while investors turned cautious ahead of an announcement on the date of a parliamentary election. The main stock index ended down 0.41% at 7,035.15, its lowest close since April 15. Market saw a net foreign outflow of 102.8 million rupees on Friday, extending net foreign sales in the past 18 sessions to 3.42 billion rupees. Bourse, however, has seen net inflows of 2.52 billion rupees more..

June 19 (CT) President Rajapaksa was defeated by the incumbent Maithripala Sirisena fair and square in the presidential election. Yet, Rajapaksa is not convinced that he has lost the election because he still retains overwhelming support within the Sinhala community. Therefore, instead of retiring from active politics and enjoying his retirement benefits, he continue to be in a state of semi-retirement. Now, he seems to be coming out of the semi-retirement and engaging in active politics. more..

June 19 (CG) United States has offered funds to organisations to conduct programs which will will support promoting reconciliation and advancing transparency and accountability in Sri Lanka. The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) at the US State Department said that approximately $750,000 will be made available for the project. DRL’s goal is to facilitate cooperation across religious and ethnic lines to more..

June 19 (DM) Two Police DIGs have been promoted to the rank of Senior Deputy Inspector General as per a Cabinet decision to fill the vacancies in the Department, Police announced today. Accordingly, A. R. Vaidyalankara who serves in the Financial Crimes Investigations Division (FCID) had been promoted to the post of Senior DIG with effect from March 18, 2015 while D.W.R.B. Senevirathne who serves in the CID had been promoted as a Senior DIG with effect from May 15, 2015. more..

June 19 (Island) Govt Nursing Officers’ Association (GNOA) yesterday said that nurses of the Professions Supplementary to Medicine (PSM) and para-medical services under the North Western Provincial Council (NWPC) would resort to a strike if they were not paid the Rs. 3,000 allowance due to them before June 25. The allowance approved by the Treasury Secretary on April 6, 2015 was to be paid with effect from last May, according to GNOA Chairman, Saman Ratnapriya. more..

June 19 (AD) Colombo Magistrate’s Court informed the CID to produce a copy of Colombo High Court directive to freeze the bank accounts belonging to popular cinema and television actress, Udayanthi Kulatunga. A petition filed by the Kulathunga, seeking to unfreeze her bank accounts, was taken up for consideration before the Magistrate’s Court today. CID had sought and obtained court order to freeze Kulathunga’s more..

June 19 (DN) Govt makes all efforts to provide an efficient service to the public incorporating technology, said Internal Transport Minister Ranjith Madduma Bandara. He said so after opening the modernized Motor Traffic Office which includes an online registration system to issue driving licences, at the Moneragala District Secretariat recently. The project cost Rs. 10 million. The minister said earlier people had to wait several months to obtain their driving licence. more..

June 19 (GDI) Deputy Minister of Justist Sujeewa Senasinghe said that income of the people would be increased to 80,000 rupees by creating an industrial era in the country within three years and an economy would be created where everyone will have money in their hands. He said that an industrial era would be created in the country which would enable to produce electric vehicles. He further said that the people would be able to live freely when sound moral values and good governance is more..

June 19 (DM) Minister Ranjith Maddumabandara said today the bus operators had agreed not to increase the annual bus fares in July as laid down in the National Bus Fare Policy. He said the decision was taken on the basis that operational cost had decreased by 0.03% when compared to the operational costs last year. “It now costs only Rs.89.97 per kilometer where as it was Rs.89.99 at the time bus fareswere revised more..

June 19 (AD) There is a suspicion that a conspiracy has been launched to assassinate former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, says the People’s Media Organisation. The group’s National Organiser, Nimal Weeratunga, stated that on June 09 they complained to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) regarding the matter and that they were notified the complaint has been forwarded to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU). He said that he too provided a statement over the complaint. more..

June 19 (CI) 7: Times Azhar Ali has been dismissed by Rangana Herath, more than by any other bowler. Each of the six batsmen whom Herath has dismissed most often in Tests are from Pakistan, with Misbah-ul-Haq leading the list (nine times). 14: Years since a Sri Lanka opener has faced 300-plus balls in a home Test. Kaushal Silva faced exactly 300 balls in the first innings to score 125 runs. The last time this happened was also in Galle, when Marvan Atapattu scored 201 off 536 balls, more..

June 19 (CI) Sri Lanka took control of the Galle Test, reducing Pakistan to 118 for 5 at stumps on the third day and leaving them facing a steep climb on a pitch with plenty of help for the spinners. When rain brought play to a close eight overs early, Pakistan were 182 runs adrift of Sri Lanka's first-innings total of 300. That total was made possible by a dogged 125 from Kaushal Silva, who held the innings together in the morning even as more..

June 19 (CG) The TULF, has in a resolution, agreed that President Maithripala Sirisena should be given all support to re-establish democracy in the country and to rule, providing equal opportunities for all ethnic groups, to live in peace and amity as free citizens of Sri Lanka. In the resolution, the TULF stated that it also strongly believes that the disunity between the TULF and the TNA had seriously affected the welfare of the Tamil speaking people and had distanced the chances of more..

June 19 (DM) 33 employees of a garment factory in the Katunayake Investment Promotion Zone (KEPZ) were admitted to the Minuwangoda Hospital today due to suspected food poisoning. A spokesperson for the factory said that the employees had been hospitalised after they fell sick after eating their lunch. Out of a total of 600 employees that had eaten the lunch, about 50 had been admitted to a private hospital after complaining of feeling faintish and vomiting. more..

June 19 (EN) Sri Lanka's political risks declined with the end of a civil war in 2009, but parliamentary conflicts and uncertainty over elections could have a negative fallout while the effect on investors from new taxes was also not clear, Moody's, a rating agency said. "Sri Lanka's constitutional democracy was resilient through the many years of civil conflict, and the peaceful change in leadership following Presidential election more..

June 19 (EN) Hayleys Aquagri Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of Hayleys group, has partnered with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to expand seaweed farming in select islands in the northern Jaffna District. In addition to business development support, Hayleys Aquagri Pvt. Ltd. will contribute their specialized technical support to the farmers enabling them to grow seaweed in a more efficiently and productively. “Hayleys will also enter into buy back arrangements with each farmer more..

June 19 (Island) Acting on a tip-off, the Colombo Excise Special Operations Bureau on Wednesday raided an illicit distillery close to the Negombo lagoon and took into custody 18 barrels containing semi-brewed moonshine and plastic cans containing an equivalent of 750 bottles of the illicit brew. One suspect had been taken into custody, said Excise Department spokesman Inspector Jayantha de Silva. The Excise men also took into custody distilling equipment. more..

June 19 (Xinhua) Sri Lankan govt said that India had not held any discussions with Sri Lanka over establishing a road and rail link connecting the two countries across the Palk Strait. Deputy Minister Ajith P. Perera said that despite media reports that India's central govt was considering building a road and rail link to Sri Lanka to enhance transport between the two countries, no discussions had been held with Sri Lanka over the matter. more..

June 19 (CG) US Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs is currently experiencing technical problems with its visa systems. The Embassy said that the issue is not specific to any particular country or visa category and apologized for the inconvenience adding that it is working urgently to correct the problem and restore full operability. Currently, U.S. embassies are unable to print most nonimmigrant visas and process online applications submitted after June 8, 2015. more..

June 19 (LBO) Minister Ravi Karunanayake says former President Mahinda Rajapaksa is afraid of him and evading the debate against him. “I see that Mahinda Rajapaksa is afraid, inexpert and doesn’t want to attend this debate,” Karunanayake charged. “Since Mahinda Rajapaksa is not coming, I’ll debate with Bandula on next Tuesday and show how they destroyed the country.” Karunanayake told reporters Friday. The debate will be broadcast through national television, Finance Ministry said. more..

June 19 (PTI) As World Refugee Day falls tomorrow, several young Sri Lankan Tamils born and raised in camps in Tamil Nadu are eager to go back to the land of their ancestors to try and connect with their roots and get a sense of belong. Though refugees returning to Sri Lanka on their own volition happens on and off, especially after the end of the civil war there in 2009, a new trend that is catching up is of young men who have never more..

June 19 (GDI) The new govt has paid special attention to develop facilities at temples in rural areas and to provide more facilities for Bhikkhus in those areas, said President Maithripala Sirisena. He made these observations participating at the felicitation ceremony at the Sri Gunananda Buddhist Centre in Neluwa Today. The ceremony was organized to felicitate the Most Venerable Udagama Samitha Nayaka Thero, who was conferred with the office of Mahanayaka of Hinidum Pattuwa. more..

June 19 (DM) With the eruption of heated arguments among the ruling and Opposition members of the Kaduwela Municipal Council, the sessions were adjourned restricting the day's session to just five minutes today. When the day’s proceedings commenced, a question relating to the construction of the weekly fair was raised by opposition leader Priyantha Pathberiya that led to a heated verbal exchange between the member concerned and Mayor G.H.Budhadhasa, more..

June 19 (DM) The report of the Analytic Archaeological Laboratory in Florida in USA on Matale mass grave site was not acceptable and that it contradicted the earlier reports of Prof. Raj Somaduwa and the former JMO of the Matale Hospital, Attorney-at-Law Sunil Watawala informed the Matale Magistrate today. Watawala watching the interests of the aggrieved parties submitted that the reports were contradictory when magisterial more..

June 20 (CT) Before it becomes too late, the whole nation should defeat a certain ideology or dogma. That ideology relates to a person none other than the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), Arjuna Mahendran. He believes that market forces should determine the exchange rate of the rupee. He said this openly on a TV programme known as Naduwa conducted by ITN. Further, he said that he believes it when the country is in a situation of having over-borrowed. more..

June 20 (CT) The proposition in the above caption is not something that I am proposing. Instead, it has been proposed by the 21st Century socialists. The above caption is the 2nd characteristic out of the five characteristics proposed by Bolivarian revolutionaries for 21st century socialism. Sumansiri Liyanage brought the said list to our notice through one of his recent articles to Colombo Telegraph. In regard to the above point, one of the readers of Colombo Telegraph, more..

June 20 (SO) The poor Muslims of the Mannar District have the right to be considered as people of Mannar, with a right to return to their homes from which they were expelled in 1990 several times over. I am not a fan of the victim position but in this instance it seems especially apt. After the expulsion in 1990 when they were summarily driven out from the North, the LTTE questioned their right to belong to that place, the right to call it their home. more..

June 20 (CT) There was a political necessity in society over a long time to have decent electoral reforms effected. Necessity was to strengthen people’s representation in an improved parliamentary democracy. That required the whole electoral system to be clean and devoid of corruption. That in turn required political parties to be democratic, corruption free and accountable to the people. We therefore wish to note that electoral reforms brought to straighten more..

June 20 (CT) Four new meet records were established on the second day of the 42nd Annual Sri Lanka Schools All Island Age Group Aquatic Championship that commenced at Sugathadasa Stadium Swimming Complex. At the completion of the second, six meet records were registered with two that were on the first day. Dimuth Akalanka St Peter's College set a new meet record in U15 butterfly 50M event while Amanda Jayasekera from Musaeus College broke the record in more..

June 20 (CT) Leader of the National Workers’ Front, Minister of Plantation Infrastructure Development, Palani Digambaran said, if the Amendments submitted by him and the minority parties to the 20th Amendment on electoral reforms are not accepted, he will not only oppose it in Parliament but also will resign from his ministerial post as well. Q: Why did you leave Mahinda Rajapaksa during the recent election and more..

June 20 (CT) Waiting for a frog to croak and sneakily creeping upto it to catch it before it disappears among the plants and leaves or chasing a water snake as it jumps from one fish tank to another is a chore that Claude Lovel Juriensz goes through on a daily basis as a fish breeder who has more than 30 years of experience in the field. Juriensz was the President of the Association of Specialized Aquarium Fish Breeders of SL from 1997 to 2008. What started out as a hobby more..

June 20 (Island) Secretary to the Ministry of Mass Media and Information—which reminds us of the Ministry of Truth in Orwell’s dystopian novel, 1984—Karunaratne Paranavithana, has recently claimed that under the new government the state media are balanced. Promising that they would be neutral at future elections, he has said they were grossly abused under the previous dispensation. He should know; he occupied high positions at some state media institutions under more..

June 20 (SO) Six years after the end of the war, Sri Lanka has estimated the number of women-headed households in the North to be a staggering 50,000, while a recent study, borne out of Jaffna, highlighted the great economic divide between the women of the North and the South. Earlier estimates by community-based organizations quoted the number of women-headed households in former conflict zone to be 40,000-60,000. more..

June 20 (Island) What role will yoga play in Sri Lanka in the coming years, as Narendra Modi takes the huge leap to make it India’s biggest contribution to the world, coming down from more than two millennia? Will Yahapaalanaya see in this new boost for yoga, a good move to draw the interests of Sri Lankans away from mundane things such as the early dissolution of Parliament, or the role of the defeated Mahinda Rajapaksa in the SLFP? June 21, is a real big day for Narendra Modi. more..

June 20 (Island) Some readers may wonder why I want to re-assess President JR, who belongs to a past that is dead, when there are so many urgent problems of the present that might be addressed by a weekly columnist. My answer is that the way we assess the past reflects the way we assess the present, and more importantly it also shapes our orientation to the future. There is a whole school of thought about history behind my view, which I hope to clarify later. more..

June 20 (NS) In 2012, former US National Security Adviser Stephan J. Hadley said, “Turkey has become one of the five or six most important countries in the world.” He went on to say; “It’s ironic… if you look at economic performance, you wonder whether Turkey ought to join the EU or the EU ought to join Turkey.” Iskender Okyay is the current as well as the first ever Ambassador of the Turkish Republic to Sri Lanka. more..

June 20 (CT) NPC Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran is currently up in arms over the allocation of funds to the Northern TNA Parliamentarians from the Central Govt. Wigneswaran's accusation of TNA Parliamentarians from the Northern Province obtaining funds from the Central Government and on the negligence of the Central Government in allocating adequate funds for the Northern Provincial Council has turned into a prime issue in the Northern political scene in recent days. more..

June 20 (CT) Saman Piyasiri Fernando came from a university to become the leader of the military wing of the JVP and went on to become the most wanted terrorist in the country. He ended up as the leader of JVP when Somawansa Amarasinghe vanished from the country. Amarasinghe became the Leader of the JVP when Wijeweera and Gamanayake were executed. Ranasinghe Premadasa was the only Sinhalese politician who made a sincere and brave attempt to solve the Tamil problem. more..

June 20 (Island) Maris Stella College, Negombo completed a hat trick of boys’ championship titles with their superior track performances, Ratnayake Central, Walala retained the girls’ title winning it for the 17th occasion while triple jumpers Vidusha Lakshani (girls’) and L.P.G. Dananjaya (boys’) bagged the best athlete awards at the Sir John Tarbet Senior Athletics Championships concluded at Diyagama on Friday. more..