May 3 (DM) A video footage of a SLFP candidate who had unsuccessfully contested the last LG election for Kuliyapitiya Pradeshiya Sabha, assaulting a teenage cricketer playing for a leading Kurunegala school is circulating in the social media. Footage shows the victim who was a resident in the same area being assaulted by several individuals including a 16 year-old boy near Kuliyapitiya bus stand recently. more..

May 3 (AD) A variety of reasons have caused delays to several SriLankan Airlines flights today (3). The untimely sickness of a passenger inbound from the Gulf initiated a diversion to Cochin on one flight while another aircraft inbound from Kuwait was caught in a dust-storm and required attention from Engineering. Two other aircraft were delayed for technical reasons that have since been resolved, SriLankan Airlines said in a statement. The lack of aircraft meant that a number of flights, more..

May 3 (AD) There is no political instability in the country and ruined politicians without a voter-base are engaged in a scheme to destabilize the government, says Minister Arjuna Ranatunga. He stated this to the media after attending a religious event at Dematagoda, this morning (03). While stating that there is no instability in the country, he says however there were many unsavory incidents in the political field that came to be because of power-hungry individuals. more..

May 3 (NR) The CID today informed Court that it has commenced investigations to obtain phone records of a group including Navy Officers pertaining to investigations into the murder of former national rugby player Wasim Thajudeen. The CID made this revelation when the case was taken up for hearing before Colombo Additional Magistrate Priyantha Liyanage. It has been revealed that the group of Navy more..

May 3 (AD) Sri Lanka Police today requested public assistance on arresting a suspect in connection with the kidnapping for ransom, illegal detention and murder of 11 youths in 2008 and 2009. Currently, several navy officers have been arrested by the CID with regard to the investigations being carried regarding this. Former Navy Lieutenant Commander Chandana Hettiarachchi aka Navy Sampath, who is one of the wanted suspect over the incident, is believed to be absconding. more..

May 3 (DN) It is not necessary to issue a gazette notification to legalize the May 7 Labor Day holiday which was shifted from May 1 to the private sector, said Home Affairs Minister Vajira Abeywardena. He said this clarifying questions raised by the media as to whether the private sector is entitled to claim the shifted May 7 holiday even though a gazette notification was issued legalizing it. Minister further said that it is only necessary to gazette public and bank holidays. more..

May 3 (EN) President Maithripala Sirisena’s Chief of Staff was arrested by bribery detectives on Thursday in connection with a bribery charge, official sources said. Chief of Staff I.H.K. Mahanama was arrested while allegedly accepting part of a bribe from an Indian investor, sources said. Police sources said he was taken into custody on Thursday afternoon at a deluxe hotel in Colombo along with the chairman of more..

May 3 (NR) The Special Commodity Levy imposed on imported big onions and potatoes have been increased to 40 rupees. The Ministry of Finance said the new levy imposed on big onions and potatoes are in effect from midnight yesterday. Accordingly, levy on a kilogram of potatoes has been increased by 10 rupees while taxes on a kilogram imported big onions have been increased by 39 rupees. Ministry attributed the decision to increase taxes on imported potatoes and big onions, more..

May 3 (GDI) The Sri Lanka High Commission in New Delhi organized a Roadshow followed by a business interactive session for the members of the BRICS Chamber of Commerce & Industry under the theme "Sri Lanka Partnering with India for Prosperity", at the High Commission premises on 25 April 2018. The main focus of the Roadshow was to promote the Sri Lanka Investment and Business Conclave 2018 which is to be held from 19 to 21 June 2018, at Cinnamon Grand Hotel. more..

May 3 (Reuters) Sri Lanka’s embattled rupee currency will stabilise and the central bank will intervene to smoothed high volatility as there is no reason for a weaker currency, the central bank’s senior deputy governor said on Thursday. The rupee hit a record low of 157.90 per dollar on Wednesday. It reached all-time lows in five straight sessions last week. “I don’t see any fundamental reason why the currency is so volatile within more..

May 3 (DM) Meteorology Dept today warned of thunderstorms accompanied by severe lightning and thunder in Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, North-western and Southern provinces during next seven hours starting from 4.00 pm today. It said temporarily strong gusty winds speeding up to 70-80 kmph were possible during thundershowers. Meanwhile, Dept warned the public to seek shelter, preferably indoors & covered vehicles. “Never seek shelter under trees during a thunderstorm. more..

May 3 (NR) Minister of Primary Industry Daya Gamage says no one has challenged PM Ranil Wickremesinghe's leadership in the UNP. Speaking to media today, Minister Daya Gamage called on all UNP members to support the newly appointed leadership group in order to win future elections. The Minister said even during the working committee meeting, no one stood against the PM and called for a leadership contest. Minister Gamage stated that everyone is supportive of the leader more..

May 3 (AD) Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) has condemned the reappointment of Uva Chief Minister Chamara Sampath Dassanayake as the Provincial Education Minister. General Secretary of CTU, Joseph Stalin states that the Prez should pay thorough attention to this matter. CM has been accused of summoning the principal of Tamil Girls’ Maha Vidyalaya, Badulla to his residence and forcing her to kneel on the floor because more..

May 3 (SL) Sri Lanka joined MPs from South Asia to discuss more investment in children and young adults. UNICEF is hosting MPs from the entire South Asia region in an effort to increase investment in children and young adults, bringing about much needed change for millions of poor and improving the prospects for healthy economic growth in the region. South Asia Parliamentarian Platform for Children being held in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 2–3 May 2018 aims to strengthen opportunities more..

May 3 (GDI) The legal division of the Presidential Commission of inquiry appointed to probe the alleged misconduct in the SriLankan Airlines, SriLankan Catering and Mihin Lanka has ordered the institutions to submit relevant information and written documents during the period from Jan 2006 to Jan 2018 to the commission. It has been reported that the Commission has also taken steps to obtain information from the banks that operated with the three institutions. more..

May 3 (DM) The GMOA today said it would launch a countrywide work stoppage next week without prior notice in protest of several issues including the proposed Kotelawala National Defence University (KNDU) Bill and recently signed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) inked with Singapore. GMOA Secretary Dr. Haritha Aluthge said that its Central Committee (CC) which met this morning had unanimously arrived to this decision and more..

May 4 (CT) To complete what would have been a title inviting editorial censure it would have been completed thus “….- there are practical implication to not adhering to a code of morality, ethics and principles in governance.” Now, that should provide an appropriate jumping-off point for what follows! In case any reader of what I have written has any doubt, let me say, one more time, that the effective conduct of the state requires that it be done within the lines of ethical, more..

May 4 (CT) One may call it Litmus or the Acid test, whichever it is, in simplest language it means that the success or failure of the Unity Govet, will be tested by the implementation of the major/Principal commitments it pledged, and on which platform, the people supported it, to bring about a regime change in 2015. The Unity Govt between the two Political Parties, UNP and the SLFP was brought about by the concerted efforts of the enlightened progressive forces of the country, more..

May 4 (CT) JO MP Shehan Semasinghe said that the JVP voted in support of the no-confidence motion as the Party could not expose their motives to the public. Q: What is the latest strategy of the JO for its political future? A: The political instability in this govt is a challenge for the entire country. The highest rate recorded for the American Dollar in history was Rs. 158.69. It will go up further. One day after that it increased to Rs. 159.04. more..

May 4 (DN) Population projections indicate that by 2031, 21.9% of the population of Sri Lanka will be over the age of 60. Sri Lanka is thus expected to be the first low per-capita income country to enter into this global phenomenon. With the aged dependency set to rise from 13.5 in1991 to 36.0 in 2031, the financial burden will fall on the working age population. In other words, 6 workers supported one aged person in 2001, but 3 will have to support one elder in 2031. more..

May 4 (ST) We have just heard and read that the debonair Minister of Sport (MoS) has resigned with his No-Confidence Motion colleagues, having been caught in the offside trap, and an interim MoS, the fast talking Legal eagle appointed in his place, for how long is anybody’s guess! The Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) must be agog, not knowing how to award the much sought after tickets and passage to watch the games and bask in the glory that FIFA turns on every 4 years! more..

May 4 (ST) As he journeyed to the nooks and crannies of the country preaching bana or delivering dharma deshana, a grim reality hit him hard. With age making them feeble and frail, monks who had followed in the footsteps of Lord Buddha, renouncing all that was worldly including their relatives, faced absolute neglect. These were monks in remote aranyas who had become antha asarana wela, yanna thenak nethuwa, recalls more..

May 4 (GV) The last twelve months, since World Press Freedom day 2017, has not been a good year for freedom of expression in Sri Lanka. The war ravaged North bore the brunt of repression, while there were also several incidents in other parts of the country. Victims included journalists, lawyers, activists, artists and in particular those speaking out and advocating on issues such as of women’s rights, gender and sexuality. A website that had published content critical of the President was blocked, more..

May 4 (GV) Sri Lanka ranks 131 on the Reporters Without Borders 2018 World Press Freedom Index, an improvement of 10 points in the space of a year. The reason for this may be the line of red zeros within the country report – no journalists, citizen journalists or media assistants were killed in Sri Lanka 2018. However, as the Index notes, many of the investigations into killings in the past have gone unpunished. The world has already begun to forget. In 2016, Sri Lanka dropped off the Committee more..

May 4 (DN) Captains of the four teams participating in the ongoing Super Provincial 50-over cricket tournament conducted by Sri Lanka Cricket expressed their views at a press briefing held at Galadari Hotel yesterday. “This one day tournament is the most important domestic tournament in the country and this mega event is indeed an ideal opportunity for all the players especially the ones who are yet to make it to the national side” said SLC vice president Mohan de Silva. more..

May 4 (DN) Former Royal College ruggerite M Aaqil Jamaldeen has been selected by the Asian Rugby Football Union as an Assistant Referee for the Asian Games to be held in Indonesia in August. He has also been included in the ARFU Panel C for 2018. Twenty-two-year-old Jamaldeen represented his school senior rugger team in 2013 and 2014 as a fly half and scrum half. He had earlier toured Durham to attend a training program and was appointed to referee the Durham Schools final in 2017. more..

May 4 (NYT) It was time to reclaim the holiday. To put the Buddha back into Vesak, so to speak. But as Sri Lankans prepared to celebrate Vesak, the holiday this week commemorating the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and death, the govt shook a stern finger. The celebrations had become too indulgent, a directive warned.The commemoration should be a time for prayer and meditation, not fun and games, more..

May 4 (Island) Simple as the aforesaid question may seem, on the face of it, there has been no clear-cut answer thereto. It has provoked philosophical discourse for centuries. General consensus, however, is that guards have to guard themselves, for want of a better alternative. According to some philosophers, guards have to train their souls properly. But do guards really care to guard themselves? Self-proclaimed guards have failed to guard themselves in many a field in SL. more..

May 4 (Island) Dr Lester James Peiris, going on hundred, is unarguably one of the greatest living film makers in the world; and arguably the most senior. Ammawarunay (Elegy for a Mother) his 21st film, had its premier at the Regal cinema on 30 Dec 2006. At the premier, pleading "physical incapacity" at age 87, Dr LJP announced that Ammawarunay would be his last film. In my review of the film published in Jan 2007, which I have just re-read, I contended that given the miracles of modern more..

May 4 (ST) After an over 2-year struggle, the Qute quadricycle manufactured by India’s Bajaj Auto Ltd is now on sale in SL, following its inclusion in a separate category of under section 203 in the Motor Traffic Act. Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation has promulgated regulations in a gazette extraordinary recently approving quadricycle as a road-going vehicle under a separate category, a senior official of the ministry said. more..

May 4 (CT) Upon the initiative of the TAFA Football Academy and its founder Thaabit Ahmed, a group of 14 young, aspiring football enthusiasts aged 13 to 15 years travelled to Germany in April 2018 to visit the world class German football club Borussia Dortmund, a press release says. In their weeklong trip they were trained by Borussia trainers, learning new techniques and drills which will help the children enhance their game. The group’s curriculum included daily training and more..

May 4 (DN) D.S. Rasika’s house was among those which were enveloped by the massive mountain of garbage when the Meethotamulla garbage dump collapsed exactly a year ago. Even though she was given a flat by the govt soon after the collapse, she still wishes that the tragedy had not happened and that she could live with her family in their own house in Meethotamulla. “Living in a flat is not similar to the life we lived before,” she said. “There is a huge difference. We led a more peaceful life there.” more..

May 4 (CT) Hot on the heels of the appreciation of the dollar, milk powder companies have stopped importing milk powder stocks. This comes in the wake of milk powder companies not being permitted to increase milk powder prices. This situation has caused a flurry in the local market, local milk producers say and hail the new measure as being profitable for them. Market sources said that halting the import of milk powder would be beneficial more..

May 4 (PMD) The first Ranaviru flag of War Heroes Commemoration Month was pinned on President Sirisena today (2). This month has been declared as the National War Heroes Commemoration Month – 2018. The govt has declared this annual War Heroes Commemoration Month to pay gratitude to the war heroes who sacrificed their lives and limbs during the humanitarian operation to end three decades long terrorism in the country. Chairman of Ranaviru Seva Authority, Mrs. Anoma more..

May 4 (ST) I spent three days at the Labour Department trying to hand over the EPF benefits claim and in the interest of thousands of others who would be filing their claims, I thought of relating the inconvenience that one goes through. I took the claim form and went to the Labour Department ground floor counter along with a statement of fund availability collected from the Central Bank (CB), with accurate details in it, i.e. correct name, correct employer/employee number and with my NIC more..

May 4 (Island) SLPP said the 20th Amendment to the constitution which the JVP had proposed to be presented to the parliament, was not the biggest issue of the country at the moment. The party urged President Miathripala Sirisena to dissolve the parliament to end the current economic and political crisis. SLPP Chairman Prof. G.L Pieris said the 20th Amendment to the constitution had not yet been discussed in parliament and more..

May 4 (CT) Litro Gas Lanka Ltd attributes the recent gas price revision was a critical necessity and was needed to maintain the profitability of LPG companies in SL while remaining fair to consumers. However, statement notes that as a result of not being able to introduce the correct price adjustment, Litro Gas ended the financial year by recording a loss of approximately Rs 1.7 billion in the LPG packed segment. The nominal increase of Rs 110 could not meet the required price increase more..

May 4 (Island) Minister of Skills Development, Sarath Amunugama has instructed officials to double the intake to the technical and vocational training institutions under his ministry and to upgrade their syllabuses to meet international standards. Addressing his senior officials including Heads of Departments and Institutions, on Wednesday, Dr. Amunugama directed that all that should happen with the next intake of trainees scheduled for July this year. more..

May 4 (CT) The TRI is expected to come up with a weedicide substitute for Glyphosate by the end of 2018. Approval for increased MCPA residue levels by the Japanese Authorities is expected sooner than the stipulated time of two years to mitigate trade losses Sri Lanka and Japan were experiencing in the last few months, according to Tea Research Institute (TRI) Director, Dr. I.S.B. Abeysinghe. more..