May 11 (Island) Marawila Magistrate last Tuesday remanded till May 18, two men charged with robbing a young couple of their valuables after attacking them on the beach near a church there. According to the police, suspects Avishka Sandaruwan (19) and Haritha Kelum Appuhamy (25) had robbed the mobile phone, credit cards, Rs. 3,800 in cash and damaged the motorcycle in which they arrived at the church around 11.00 pm. The duo armed with a manna knife and a sword also had made a vain attempt to more..

May 11 (AD) Selin Kumara (45) alias Thel Kumara has been shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Trincomalee this morning, police said. Two gunmen had arrived in a car and opened fire at an individual who was inside a small lorry parked on the roadside before fleeing the scene. The victim had succumbed to injuries while being rushed to the Trincomalee Hospital in critical condition. The deceased, from Sirimapura, who is suspected to be involved in various criminal activities. more..

May 11 (EN) SL's central bank kept policy rates unchanged, saying inflation will remain in single digit levels, despite a temporary uptick in the index as fuel and gas prices were raised, while food prices continue to fall. "However, a temporary uptick in inflation is expected in the short term due to the impact of upward price revisions to domestic petroleum products, LP gas and milk powder," the central bank said in its may Monetary policy statement. more..

May 11 (DM) 21 unauthorized structures along the Mirissa beach including Water Creatures Beach Guest Restaurant & Surf Bar where a group of Dutch tourists were assaulted were demolished today by the Coast Conservation Department (CCD). CCD Director General Prabath Chandrakeerthi said there were no interruptions neither did any one intervene when the demolishing were going on under tight security. More than 100 police officers, 24 Anti-Riot Squad personnel and a water cannon were deployed more..

May 11 (AD) Ranil Wickremesinghe would not have been appointed as the PM, if Duminda Dissanayake was removed from SLFP General Secretary Post, said MP Dilan Perera. The MP made this statement while addressing media when the Group of 16 SLFP MPs who recently resigned from the govt met His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith this morning. “Duminda should be removed from his post in the same way Ranil Wickremesinghe should be removed from PM’s portfolio” Dilan Perera said. more..

May 11 (AD) Bus fares for private busses are expected to be increased by a minimum of 10 percent with effect from next week, the Lanka Private Bus Owners Association (LPBOA) President Gemunu Wijeratne said today. He said the decision was made in line with the recent increase in fuel prices by the govt. Wijeratne said Association had informed the National Transport Commission (NTC) yesterday of the change in fares. The NTC is yet to approve the decision. more..

May 11 (EN) Sri Lanka's central bank would probe market transactions CB Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy said after the rupee fell sharply in late April and May after a bout of money printing by the central bank to enforce low rates. The central bank has spent 136.5 million dollars intervening, but about 30 million dollars had also been purchased, he said. The central bank would look at transactions in the market to understand the nature of deals, Governor Coomaraswamy said. more..

May 11 (Island) Court of Appeal fixed for inquiry on June 5, the contempt of Court application, filed against Dr Anuruddha Padeniya, the President of Govt Medical Officers Association. Dr Padeniya is accused of having insulted court by public reference to a Court of Appeal order, which said that SITAM, medical graduates should be registered by Medical Officers of the state, as stated in Section 29 of the Medical Ordinance. Dr. Padeniya allegedly participated in a protest rally in Colombo, more..

May 11 (EN) SL expects the economy to grow 3.7% in the first quarter of 2018 driven by service sector expansion, CB Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy said. The growth was still below potential, he said. Central bank which is intervening in forex markets and collecting reserves is operating a soft-pegged monetary regime, which frequently goes into balance of payments crises. Policy stance was now neutral Coomaraswamy said, from an earlier tight policy until April. more..

May 11 (AD) The Supreme Court has refused to proceed with the Fundamental Rights (FR) petition filed seeking to lift the restrictions imposed on the bank accounts of former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Russia, Udayanga Weeratunga. The petition was reportedly filed by the ex-diplomat’s mother-in-law stating that the issuing of a warrant for the arrest of Weeratunga and the suspension of his bank accounts were in violation of his fundamental rights. more..

May 11 (SL) A journalist attached to the Divaina newspaper has been arrested by the CID after he disregarded summons issued to him. The journalist had earlier been summoned before the CID to record a statement over an article he wrote on the assault on Journalist Upali Tennakoon. Divaina journalist had however failed to appear before the CID and the CID went before court seeking court intervention. The Gampaha Magistrate’s Court had issued notice on the journalist but the notice was also disregarded. more..

May 11 (AD) Former UPFA MP Shantha Bandara has been appointed as the new Chairman of the State Timber Corporation (STC). He received the letter of appointment from President Maithripala Sirisena at the President’s Official Residence today, the PMD said. Shantha Bandara is the President of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party Youth Front (SLFPYF). The new appointment comes after there had been some confusion surrounding the position of STC chairman recently. more..

May 11 (Xinhua) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday congratulated Mahathir Mohamad on his victory in the Malaysian general elections. In a letter sent to Mahathir, Wickremesinghe said Sri Lanka and Malaysia enjoyed a traditional and longstanding friendship which had reached new dimensions. "I am confident that these close and cordial relations will be further strengthened and consolidated in the years ahead for the mutual benefit of our countries," Wickremesinghe said. more..

May 11 (DM) The UNP is set to appoint a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to look after the affairs of its headquarters, Sirikotha, party sources said. The main objective behind the creation of this post is to see that Sirikotha is run effectively and efficiently. “One of the main functions of the CEO would be to assist the General Secretary of the party in running the headquarters,” sources said. Sources added that the appointment of a CEO was one of the main recommendations made by more..

May 11 (NR) Speaker of House Karu Jayasuriya says he has not been informed yet that the post of Deputy Speaker of Parliament has been left vacant by President Maithripala Sirisena. Speaker made this statement during the Parliament session currently underway in response to an inquiry by UNP MP Nalin Bandara. MP Nalin Bandara said MP Thilanga Sumathipala sat in the opposition and informed the General Secretary of Parliament in writing regarding his resignation. more..

May 11 (AD) President Maithripala Sirisena and Higher Education Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, submitted the cabinet Paper for 980 South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) students to be absorbed by Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) after evaluating their qualifications. more..

May 11 (Xinhua) Army Commander Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake said the SL Army was preparing material to defend itself against war crimes allegations made in the international arena. He said the army had set up a Directorate of Overseas Operations dedicated to preparing the material. "The Army considers it necessary to have an organization or a think tank of its own, to defend the institution in the context of the grave charges. And the defense has to be carried out with facts and figures." more..

May 11 (AD) GMOA has decided to launch an island-wide 24-hour strike action on May 17. GMOA Secretary Haritha Aluthge said the strike action will be held as a protest against the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed with Singapore, proposed Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) with India and several other issues. Meanwhile, a discussion is due to be held with Higher Education Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakse to resolve the crisis which has occurred due to the decision taken by more..

May 11 (NR) The govt has issued a gazette notification including new regulations on manufacturing fairness creams. Accordingly special instructions to be followed by manufacturers, importers, packagers and traders have included. According to the new regulations all creams must be labelled with the product name, manufacturer's name and address. It is also compulsory to include the brand name, volume, weight and the country of manufacture on the packaging. more..

May 11 (DM) Officers of the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) today seized 1. 767 kg of heroin from a residence of a suspect, who was arrested on May 4. The suspect is under detention until yesterday on charges of having heroin in possession. The PNB commenced investigations while the suspect is in detention. When his house was raided, the PNB found the stock heroin from a cupboard. PNB also found 439 grams 63 mg of gold along with the heroin which was suspected to have been robbed by the suspect. more..

May 11 (EN) Asian Development Bank (ADB) and SL’s govt Friday signed a $100 million loan agreement as additional financing for technical and vocational education and help companies overcome skilled labour shortages. The additional funding will enable the government to continue implementing the Skills Sector Development Program (SSDP), which is supported by a $100 million ADB loan approved in 2014, through 2020. ADB said the money will also support economic diversification, more..

May 12 (CT) The President in the course of his address identified three main issues. One was, the economy; the second was, the issue of the North and the East, popularly referred to as the national question and the third was, the issue of corruption and fraud. All these three issues are fundamental issues which have a great impact on the future of this country. But, Sir, I will in the course of my address primarily deal with issue number two. That is the national question, more..

May 12 (CT) That the media shapes public opinion is an overt secret. Shakespeare had the perfect example in Antony in his Julius Caesar; the same people who passionately chanted, Give him a statue with his ancestors when Brutus spoke, turned against him; the same man whom they declared as the next Caesar, and his friends, almost instantly. It only took Antony; Caesar’s right hand man, to ascend the stage and speak; and speak he did with words that were chosen to pierce their hearts more..

May 12 (SO) Lester James Peries would have become one of the country’s top journalists had he remained in the profession. After all, he was quite well established as an overseas correspondent for the Times of Ceylon when his true Line of Destiny came to light. Lester certainly had a way with words, but it soon became apparent that he also had a way with pictures – of the moving kind. This is where he spent 50 years of his more..

May 12 (CT) Media reported that some Deputy Ministers and State Ministers are disgruntled after the recent cabinet reshuffle stating that they ought to have been given positions as Cabinet Ministers. Our MPs should give up being self-cantered, but be conscious of their responsibility to the people they have been appointed to serve. A fundamental constitutional principle in the British Westminster parliamentary system is that ministers are responsible to the parliament for more..

May 12 (CT) Reconciliation is a much used word since our civil war ended and is emphasized by the UNHRC. Special brand of reconciliation of pertinence in SL as of now is national reconciliation, meaning reconciliation of a racial and religious nature. To define the term: the restoration of friendly relations; the action of making one view or belief compatible with another. Synonyms include: reunion, reuniting, bringing back, together again, conciliation, & reconcilement. more..

May 12 (Roar) On 25 April, US Navy hospital ship Mercy docked at the Trincomalee harbour. Reputed to be the largest in the world, the ship boasts of a 1000-bed capacity and state-of-the-art medical equipment. “Welcome to the largest—and best!—medical ship in the world,” the ship’s Captain L. Boamah, said. Addressing several media personnel on a tour of the ship, Captain Boamah stressed that the ship was a more..

May 12 (GV) This is the money that my daughter and I collected every day in a till. It used to be on the cabinet. The notes can no longer be found. The coins were caught in the flames and were burned. He took the coins one by one and held them in his hands. His breath caught in his chest. To him, the value in these coins was clearly more than the rupee or two that they were worth. We’re not angry with the Sinhala people, were his last words to me. Editor’s Note: Vikalpa traveled to Digana and more..

May 12 (Island) The govt has set the cat among the pigeons by unveiling a plan to bring the Samurdhi Bank under the purview of Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance. SLFP has vowed to defeat the govt plan, which it says, is aimed at enabling UNP politicians to help themselves to the funds in that bank as well. Some yahapalana leaders claim that there have been irregularities in the management of Samurdhi funds; they are apparently trying to make themselves out to be a group of knights more..

May 12 (GV) From a No Confidence Motion to oust the PM, to a deep-rooted rift between President and PM, the swearing in of a new cabinet of ministers, religious and ethnic conflict, impunity, corruption and scores of other existent and possibly non-existent allegations, mistrust between the govt and its people are at an all-time high in Sri Lanka. Speaking to the Daily Mirror, following the recent Cabinet reshuffle, Dy Minister Ranjan Ramanayake said, “I have not been engaged in corruption and more..

May 12 (Island) The above changes do not showcase good signs of any improvement. This clearly shows the country is heading for a disaster and economic crisis. Who is to be blamed? The rulers and the people as well. The people voted in 2015 expecting a better change than the previous regime. But what happened? It has gone upside down. This shows the rulers did not have any idea of good governance. They had only one thing in common which is to pursue revenge politics more..

May 12 (Roar) Hopscotch, carrom, walla salli and tin kadanawa. These are a handful of the indoor and outdoor games that were enjoyed by local children, in a time before video games became as popular as they are now. Games like elle are unique to our culture, while others—like hopscotch—are played elsewhere, too. Hopscotch: Better known as batta in Sinhalese, this game was schooltime favourite. more..

May 12 (CT) Sprinter Vinoj Suranjaya de Silva continued his impressive run in 2018 clocking a personal best, 10.27 seconds to win the Gold medal in the 100m at the Malaysian Open Athletic Championship held at Kuala Lumpur yesterday. De Silva who erased the 20-year-old 200m SL record of Sugath Thilakarathne clocking 20.68 seconds less than two weeks ago, dazzled with a time of 10.34 seconds in the semi-finals to ease in to final. He did not get the best of starts in the final while more..

May 12 (AC) BEATINGS, sexual assault, and burning are just some of the abuses described by those who say they have survived abductions by Sri Lanka’s authorities and military forces, an investigation by Al Jazeera finds. The new report from 101 East, released today, explores the troubling accusations of enforced disappearances that have plagued SL for generations. “They threw me into this corner and started attacking me,” said Nihal Sirasinga who was abducted in 2009 more..

May 12 (ST) World 50-metre backstroke record holder (24.04 secs) and Olympian Liam Tancock says that he will use a five-day training workshop in Colombo to help develop skills of the swimmers by sharing his passion and transferring his vast knowledge and experience. Tancock–a multiple World and Commonwealth Games medalist with over ten years of experience in high performance sport–will arrive in the country on June 21 more..

May 12 (FT) A proposal to set up three new Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) power plants with the assistance of China, Japan and India has been given the green light by the Cabinet. Cabinet memorandum presented by Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya has proposed to establish the three new power plants as a measure to resolve the country’s energy crisis, which is expected to become far more serious by 2021. Consequently, the Cabinet nod has been given to construct a 400 MW LNG plant more..

May 12 (Island) Captain Upul Tharanga slammed a less than run a ball century to help Galle beat Kandy and take the lead in the points table of the ongoing Inter-Provincial cricket tournament. Electing to bat first, Kandy made 279 for nine in their 50 overs. Minod Banuka top scored with 82 runs while Charith Asalanka chipped in with 55 for Kandy with left-arm spinner Malinda Pushpakumara continuing to impress taking four wickets. Galle got off to a terrific start with the openers Tharanga and more..

May 12 (DN) With injuries once again playing a major role in team selections, the national selection committee headed by former fast bowler Graeme Labrooy have picked a squad of 17 players from what was available to them for the three-Test tour of West Indies starting later this month. Missing from the line-up that played in the last Test series in Bangladesh in February are experienced opener Dimuth Karunaratne more..