May 20 (GDI) World Expo is hosted every five years by a different country in the world with the aim of promoting industrial and technological progress world–wide. Expo 2015 has attracted 14,270 visitors as at 16th May where the treasures of Sri Lanka have been experienced leading to new partnership between Sri Lanka and the world said the Commissioner General for Sri Lanka Rohantha Athukorala. Sri Lanka pavilion is unique with the top 7 institutions of Sri Lanka under more..

May 20 (Island) A group of former employees of Sri Lanka Insurance (SLI) began a protest in front of its headquarters at Vauxhall Street, Colombo, yesterday requesting the authorities to reinstate them, claiming that they were forced out of their jobs. An organiser of the protest said they were going to turn the protest into a fast-unto-death if the authorities, including Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake did not respond positively to their request by Friday. more..

May 20 (IL) Minister of Health and Indigenous Medicine Dr. Rajitha Senaratne today (19) addressed the 68th World Health Assembly held in Geneva and highlighted the progress Sri Lanka has made in achieving the Millennium Development Goals and universal health coverage, particularly with respect to Maternal & Child Health and the control of communicable diseases. more..

May 20 (DM) UPFA MP Vasudeva Nanayakkara today claimed that he and several other MPs were personally told by President Maithripala Sirisena that he had no problem with former president Mahinda Rajapaksa contesting and functioning as the Prime Minister if elected. Speaking at a media briefing held at Abayaramaya, Narahenpita Mr. Nanayakkara said: “Even though President Sirisena has not yet extended his agreement officially, he has told us in private that he would agree with more..

May 20 (CT) The controversial Colombo Port City (CPC) project, which has been designed to reclaim the seabed and develop a large commercial centre in an area covering 230 hectares adjacent to the city of Colombo, remains under suspension since early March 2015. A plethora of articles has appeared about the CPC, which is financed by the China Communications Constructions Company (CCCC), since the Sirisena govt was formed and especially after announcement by govt spokesperson, more..

May 20 (AD) The committee appointed to probe shocking allegations of the Sri Lanka women’s team management and national selectors seeking sexual bribes from players, today submitted its report to the Minister of Sports. The Committee Report of the three-member committee, headed by Retired Supreme Court Judge Nimal Dissanayake, was handed over to Minister Navin Dissanayake, more..

May 20 (DM) Financial Crime Investigation Division (FCID) today interrogated former defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa from 9.30 a.m. till 3.00 p.m. on the controversial MIG deal and about a share transaction by Lanka Hospitals Ltd. He didn’t talk to the media but drove away from the premises soon after the interrogation ended in the afternoon. A complaint was recently lodged at the FCID about a questionable share transaction at Lanka Hospitals under the chairmanship of more..

May 20 (AD) MP Sajin Vass Gunawardena, who was arrested by the CID for allegedly misusing the vehicles belonging to the President Secretariat Office, has been further remanded until May 3. CID summoned Gunawardena to record a statement on May 11, where he was arrested. Recently, the police also announced that they don’t know the whereabouts of over 120 vehicles belonging to the President Secretariat Office. Police Spokesperson also requested the public to notify them more..

May 20 (Xinhua) Over 120 people were arrested by police after violent clashes erupted between protestors and the police outside a northern court over the alleged gang rape and murder of a school girl. Police were forced to use tear gas to disperse the violent protestors who were demanding the highest punishment be meted out to the nine suspects who were arrested by police over the incident. more..

May 20 (Island) Several healthcare institutions such as the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital in the North Central Province that was battling the deadly kidney disease were affected by a severe dearth of doctors, GMOA said. GMOA National Health Issue member Dr. Chinthaka Wijewardena said that of late more than ordinary health centres, institutions like the Anuradhapura Teaching hospital and other base and district hospitals had been functioning without the required numbers of medical officers. more..

May 20 (CI) A collective bowling performance, led by offspinner Hayley Matthews' career-best 3 for 7, helped West Indies Women defend 156 against Sri Lanka Women and seal the series 3-1 in Colombo. After having opted to bat, West Indies slumped to 156 all out, with only four of their batters crossing double figures. Allrounder Sripali Weerakoddy carved up the top order, reducing West Indies to 44 for 3, before left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera inflicted more damage, claiming more..

May 20 (GDI) YB Datuk Uggah Embas, Malaysia's Minister of Plantations Industries and Commodities congratulating Minister Kiriella for the recent presidential election of President Sirisena and conveyed that the Malaysian govt looked forward to strengthen the existing bilateral relations with Sri Lanka and expressed that they would explore investment opportunities in the plantation sector of Sri Lanka. more..

May 20 (CG) Legal action will be taken against anyone found to have held events in support of the LTTE in the North this week, the Govt said today. Govt said that it is not aware of any events held glorifying the LTTE but if there were such events then legal action will be taken against the organizers. Some members of the opposition had claimed that LTTE cadres killed during the war had been commemorated in the North this week. “If such events were held then they were isolated,” more..

May 20 (DM) The JHU today urged the police and security forces to implement the law against the angry mob that tried to take the law into their hands by hiding behind the murder of a student in Jaffna recently. The JHU said it was evident that another agenda was behind the violent protest campaign carried out by angry mobs by raising black flags, obstructing roads and staging a hartal by hiding behind this incident. JHU media secretary Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe alleged more..

May 20 (AM) Supreme Court today decided to lift the restraining order on the govt’s plans to return 818 acres of land at Sampur original owners. The bench was comprised Chief Justice K. Sripavan, Justice Priyantha Jayawardena and Upali Abeyrathne. The gazette notification issued by the President releasing state land to the people in Sampur was suspended on May 15 by the Supreme Court. more..

May 20 (DM) Two navy men were remanded till May 25 by the Matara Magistrate today after a stone was discovered in a backpack of one of them while they were participating in the victory day parade held in Matara yesterday. ASP Ruwan Gunasekara said the stone was found inside the bag of a navy man who pushed the wheel chair of a disabled sailor. After the sailor had claimed that someone else must have put the stone in his bag to embarrass him, another sailor was also arrested on suspicion. more..

May 20 (DM) Rejecting assertions by the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), the TNA said today that the protest in Jaffna was only an 'expression of anger against the brutal murder' of an 18 year old student. "There was not even a hint of targeting the Sinhalese living in Jaffna or anything of that sort. That is a complete fabrication. The protest was an expression of the people's anger at the brutal murder of this student", TNA MP, M.A. Sumanthiran told Daily Mirror. more..

May 20 (CG) State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardena rejected allegation made by former President Rajapaksa and a group of opposition MPs who had stated that the LTTE flag was hoisted in parts of the North at a time when the nation commemorated the sixth year of defeating separatist LTTE terrorism. Wijewardena said that reports received from intelligence agencies stated that no such incident were staged in the N&E. more..

May 21 (NS) Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera’s disingenuity index regarding the Rajapaksa family’s alleged ill-gotten wealth stashed in foreign banks took a sharp upturn a few days ago with the latest tally he presented to the public. That number is now a whopping, colossal, and downright impossible 18 billion US dollars! Even for Mr. Samaraweera who has a reputation for making unfounded and outrageous accusations against his political foes this is a new low. more..

May 21 (NS) As I have said before, I didn’t mind Mahinda that much. In fact, at one point when it seemed like he was Ruler for Life. I even recommended that he be made an honorary Kolombian, provided of course that he dropped Mahendra for his other and much-better sounding name Percy. Gota was different. To begin with, it would be hard to come up with a name so un-Kolombian as Gotabhaya. On the other hand, Gota obviously felt for us. more..

May 21 (SO) In the British Parliamentary elections held on Thursday May 7, Labour Party suffered heavy losses. Within 24 hours, a devastated Ed Miliband resigned as leader of the Labour party saying “It was time for someone else to take over as leader”. This is democracy that Sri Lanka once enjoyed but which has eroded since independence in 1948, due to short sighted racist politics. more..

May 21 (CT) Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) a global monitoring body of internally displaced people worldwide estimates that as of Feb 2015, there are 90,000 IDPs in Sri Lanka. Most of them live in host communities and others in camps. Some cannot go back to their lands as it has been occupied by the forces. In this thirty year old saga, the Wilpattu National Park, one of the few natural assets of this island, has taken center stage in the battle of righteousness. more..

May 21 (Island) Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday admitted in public that her vote for the Iraq war in 2002 had been a mistake. "What we now see is a very different and dangerous situation," she told the media in Iowa. Her confession has come in the wake of a humiliating defeat the US-backed Iraqi military suffered in the Iraqi city of Ramadi, which fell to the IS militants on Sunday. The IS terrorists are now only about 100 km away from Baghdad, more..

May 21 (GV) May 19th 2015, marked six years since the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war, which at that time had been the world’s second longest running civil conflict, after Lebanon. The end of the war was commemorated in two very different ways from two very different leaders, one present and forward looking, the other defeated and backward looking, who lead a very real battle for the soul and spirit of our nation. more..

May 21 (CT) Recently a video which was shared by a Sri Lankan on his Facebook managed to grab a lot of attention. Why? Many reasons. One probably being that some people liked watching cruelty to animals, the other due to a petition which was launched against the video, requesting that the man be punished for cruelty he inflicted on the animal. More specifically a cat, which was been taunted for a human’s entertainment. A few questions remained unanswered. more..

May 21 (Island) Paddy farming accounts for nearly 40% of the total cultivable land in Sri Lanka. However, only 5% of this is cultivated for organic paddy farming while the rest is used for inorganic paddy cultivation. Organic paddy is largely used for private consumption, mainly for subsistence purposes. Most of the time, organic rice goes hand in hand with traditional paddy varieties. Over the years, concerns over Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), chemical free produce and more..

May 21 (CT) Minister Rishad Bathiudeen says Wilpattu is not in the Northern Province. "It is in the Puttalam District. Our people had settled in an area that was their village before 1990. People have not squatted in the Wilpattu National Park." What is a wildlife park ? A: It is a resource that we must protect. It is everybody's responsibility to protect wildlife parks. A: Should we not protect the eco-sensitive zones of wildlife park as well? more..

May 21 (ENS) President Sirisena set the right tone for the sixth anniversary of the end of the civil war in the island nation when he said that the truth of what happened in the conflict needed to be established and justice delivered. He was unequivocal when he said, “We were all happy when the war ended. But can we be happy with the developments post-war? We were not able to win hearts and minds of the people. The true reconciliation could only be achieved by winning hearts and minds.” more..

May 21 (CI) Kusal Perera and Nisala Tharaka made half-centuries to help Sri Lanka A recover from 100 for 6 against Pakistan A on the first day of the third and final unofficial Test in Dambulla. The pair put on 124 for the seventh wicket as the hosts were eventually bowled out for 273 in 74 overs. The Pakistan A new-ball bowlers Tabish Khan and Mir Hamza removed the Sri Lanka A openers cheaply after the visitors decided to bowl. There was a third-wicket partnership of 55 between more..

May 21 (ST) For Sithira Wickramasekara, an ardent rowing enthusiast who had never rowed as a youngster but now rich and vibrant with new ideas, his new collection of the two eights boats are the new Ferraris in rowing of SL. Bringing down these elegant boats which are hallmarks of the well renowned century-old Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race, Sithira presently sounds a contended man who had fulfilled many ambitions. more..

May 21 (CT) Both Sri Lanka A and Pakistan A cricket players including umpires faced a unpleasant experience yesterday as their meals arrived 30 minutes late after the match stopped for the lunch break during the third four-day match between the two teams which started at Dambulla yesterday. The match was stopped for the lunch interval at 12 noon, but players of both teams were surprised to find that their lunch had not arrived. They spent almost 30 minutes till the lunch arrived. more..

May 21 (DN) DFCC Vardhana Bank PLC (DVB) recorded an impressive profit after tax of Rs.336.30 million for the first quarter of the financial year of 2015. It's a 506.46% increase over the same period of the previous year. The bank's net interest income was recorded at Rs. 977 million, a 38.27% growth over the first quarter of the previous year.The bank's total operating income was Rs. 1.38 billion, a 43.54% increase over the first quarter of 2014. These performances are a result of the more..

May 21 (ST) Govt has ironed out cost estimate issues on several highway projects that were being carried out with Chinese financing. Certain changes will be made to highway construction plans in consultation with contractors with the aim of bringing down costs and the work of such projects will commence shortly. Minister Kabir Hashim held a discussion with Chinese Ambassador Yi Xianliang, on highway projects which are more..

May 21 (Island) Singapore’s digital payment landscape is on the verge of a revolution with the launch of Kashmi (pronounced Cash-Me) – a mobile peer-to-peer payment platform developed by a team of Sri Lankans. The application enables users to transfer money on the spot and free of charge via smart phones and has already sparked interest from regional investors with DP World, a multi-billion dollar Middle Eastern organization already onboard as a shareholder, a press release said. more..

May 21 (C2) In 2006, Samantha Green was vacationing in Sri Lanka when she came across a young street dog that seemed minutes away from death. Lying lifeless on the chalky grounds of a village temple, the puppy was riddled with mange and mites and was severely emaciated. Samantha, a UK citizen working in the transport industry at the time was taken aback by the sight of this creature, who was barely recognizable atop the torrid dirt piles. Unable to walk away from this wounded more..

May 21 (DN) Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa presided, when Parliament met at 1 pm yesterday. After the presentation of papers and oral questions, the House took up Immigrants and Emigrants Bill for debate. Public Order and Christian Affairs Minister John Amaratunga: It is important that the quality and recognition of our Sri Lankan passports be increased. We will be taking steps to achieve this objective. more..

May 21 (FT) A Vietnamese delegation led by Vietnam-Sri Lanka Friendship Association Chairman, Pham Van Linh visited the Parliament on Tuesday. During their visit the delegation met with Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa and several other Sri Lanka officials in order to explore the options to further strengthen ties between the two nations which had first established diplomatic relations on 21 July 1970. The delegation was comprised of Vice Chairman cum General Secretary of Vietnam more..

May 21 (DM) There is an often repeated story of two people walking in the forest. They see a tiger advancing towards them. As they start running in the opposite direction, one stops to take out and wear a better pair of shoes. What do you think you are doing, asks the other. Do you think you can outrun the tiger? No, replies the first. I don’t need to outrun the tiger. I just need to outrun you. Competitiveness in any industry works on the basis of outrunning others. more..

May 21 (FT) JVP stressed that it would urge govt to appoint members to the Constitutional Council (CC) before dissolving Parliament. JVP MP Vijitha Herath stated that govt did not have any reason to delay these appointments. “CC is the most independent authority which is formed due to 19th Amendment. It has 10 members, comprising seven MPs and three professionals. President, PM and Opposition Leader will be other 3 members,” more..

May 21 (CT) President Maithripala Sirisena categorically stated that there were no more people held as political prisoners in Sri Lanka. He added, the govt had no list of political prisoners to disclose. President Sirisena's emphatic statement, to wit, We don't have political prisoners or a list of names came in exclusive response to being asked why the govt was not revealing the names of political prisoners, which the Tamils and the international community, and very recently US Assistant Secretary more..