Jun 29 (AD) Wife of former JVP leader Rohana Wijeweera has filed a habeas corpus petition before the Appeal Court requesting to order the govt to produce her husband before an appropriate court or to release him. Petitioner, Srimathi Wijeweera, states that her husband, founding leader of JVP, went missing after being arrested by the govt during the insurgency in 1989. Twelve individuals including the Attorney General more..

Jun 29 (NR) Minister Wijith Wijayamuni Zoysa says investigations must be carried out over the revelations made by The New York Times pertaining to China funding former President Mahinda Rajapaksa's 2015 Presidential Election campaign. Speaking to media in Kandy after calling on the Chief Prelates he said the revelations bring charges against the Former Prez as well as China, for influencing the country's politics. Minister said several attempts are made through media to more..

Jun 29 (AD) The price of a 12.5 kg domestic LP gas cylinder will be reduced by Rs 138 from midnight today, the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) said. Meanwhile the price of the 5 kg LG gas cylinder is to be reduced by Rs. 55 while the price of the 2.3 kg cylinder will reduce by Rs. 25 from midnight today. Accordingly the new price of the 12.5 kg gas cylinder will be Rs. 1538, the 5kg cylinder will be priced at Rs. 615 while the new price of the 2.3 kg gas cylinder will be Rs 283. more..

Jun 29 (Island) Phoenix Duty Free Services company, the concessionaire for inflight duty free services for SriLankan had, between 2012 -2017, ordered alcohol worth USD 175,107.85, on tax free basis, in 2011, without having the necessary authority to make such a purchase, Rashmore Ferdinands, Manager Inflight Services, Administrations and Duty Free told the PCoI on irregularities at SriLankan Airlines, more..

Jun 29 (AD) UNP MP Harshana Rajakaruna has called on President Maithripala Sirisena to appoint a Presidential Commission of Inquiry to investigate the allegations made in the recent article published on The New York Times. He said that while the facts uncovered by the New York Times journalist cannot be accepted at once, they are aware of what happened in the village. He said that saris, clocks and t-shirts were distributed in that period just as claimed by the article. more..

Jun 29 (NR) Ten suspects arrested for their involvement in the brutal killing of a leopard in Ambalakulam, Kilinochchi, have been remanded till the 3rd of July. 7 of the 3 suspects were previously arrested by Police while the other three appeared before Court through attorney's during the hearing today. Further investigations are being carried out by the Kilinochchi Police. Leopard had attacked around 10 villagers last Thursday following which officers of Dept of Wildlife arrived to capture leopard. more..

Jun 29 (EN) Sri Lanka will press ahead with liberalizing the island�s shipping industry Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera said, a move first announced last year but was opposed by a domestic shipping agency cartel, while India is also freeing the sector to make it more competitive. �We are going ahead with the liberalisation of the shipping industry before the next budget,� he said at the 179th AGM of the CCC. more..

Jun 30 (CT) It is with a sense of foreboding that I pen this, returning from Ecuador to find the rupee tumbling at pace that was once familiar to me back in 1994 in Ecuador. At that time the IMF was giving them the same advice that they are providing us today: �The IMF urged Sri Lanka Wednesday to let its rupee keep sliding and not intervene further to bolster the ailing currency as it fell to historic lows �(23-08-18). My first arrival in Ecuador it was 1994 and their currency the Sucre, more..

Jun 30 (CT) The author, born 1974, was a Tamil Tiger soldier. Captured, together with thousands of others at the end the war, he was interned and tortured, escaped from the Paradise Isle (paradisiacal in geographic and scenic, rather than in man-achieved political and economic, social and cultural terms), and now lives in exile. The book�s rear cover describes it as a work of autofiction which suggests that the core experience � capture, torture, escape � is autobiographical, factual, more..

Jun 30 (CT) From stretches of pristine coastline, to an archaeological museum and several churches built by the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British, Jaffna has much to offer curious visitors. Below we have made note of the lesser known places of interest, which are located a short distance away from the main town and they can all be visited within a day�s travel. St. James Church, Gurunagar, is a notable church of more..

Jun 30 (CT) Many town folks do not know what a footbridge is. They have seen and crossed the Victoria Bridge or other bridges across rivers. These days we see people protesting against the authorities for not making bridges across rivers. In remote villages we do not see so many iron or concrete bridges but footbridges. As a village lad I did not see any bridges until I visited the nearest town Matara where I crossed the iron bridge built across the Nilvala River. more..

June 30 (GDI) Minister of Foreign Affairs Tilak Marapana concluded a four- day visit to Kenya on Wednesday (27). Minister's visit to Kenya was part of Sri Lanka�s broarder policy to expand relations in the African region. In 2016, Sri Lanka established a Permanent Mission to the African Union in Addis Ababa. During the visit, Foreign Minister Marapana held a meeting with Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Int'l Trade of Kenya Ambassador Dr. Monica Juma, where discussions focused on more..

Jun 30 (FT) Hatton National Bank (HNB) Chairman Dinesh Weerakkody said the bank�s financial results in the last three years reflect the significant role it now plays in the lives of millions of people and the national economy, as well as its commitment to the concept of Partner in Progress. Bank�s strong performance over last 3 years amply demonstrates the value of longstanding relationships that bank has built over the years. more..

Jun 30 (DN) The twists and turns of politics are moving into fresh confrontations both within the govt, and between the govt and opposition. The call for a local Hitler by a senior member of the Maha Sangha continues to hold the interest in the political debate, while Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Joint Opposition will certainly have to face questions about Chinese funding for MR�s election in the Presidential Poll in January 2015, and Mahinda Rajapaksa is offering to be a political courier more..

Jun 30 (DN) It was the common practice to assume any intervention by America in the developing world to be reactionary. Sama Samajists in particular condemned the intervention in Middle East, South East and Latin America. There were campaigns within the US which supported third world agitations implying imperialism. However in the last few years US interventions to protect minorities and human rights violations indicated a change in the system. Most certainly within US & Europe internal more..

June 30 (GDI) Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) in collaboration with SL Embassy in Thailand organized a Technical Exposure and Capacity Building Programme for 13 export ready SMEs identified under 2000 New Exporters Development Programme including Women Entrepreneurs, coinciding with the THAIFEX - World of Food Asia-2018. Keeping in line with the Economic Vision of the Govt to transform Sri Lanka into a vibrant and prosperous nation through export led growth, more..

June 30 (Island) The news of the past week buzzed loud or fearfully whispered focused on two words Hitler and military. They are inseparables like jaadiya and moodiya; pohottuwa and GL. Hitler connotes ruthless cruelty, stern dictatorship and yes, psychoses if not a type of insanity. Military of course means bloody subjugation by the mighty, wanton destruction and wasteful loss of young lives. Gotabhaya Rajapakse�s birthday had him piously offering dan� to monks - including or more..

June 30 (ST) When�s the wedding? is the familiar question when that tell-tale band on your fourth finger is spotted. In this month for weddings, we asked four popular wedding planners, Akushla Andrews (Events by Akushla), Minha Akram (Event Horizon), Janice Hakel-Ranasinghe (Kairos Weddings) and Minoli Ratnayake (The Lifestyle & Co) for some helpful tips to navigating the planning and staying sane on your wedding day! more..

June 30 (Island) It looks as if Deputy Minister of Wildlife Palitha Thewarapperuma behaved like the creatures he is supposed to protect. Wherever he goes he makes a spectacle of himself at the expense of others. He must be sharing genes with Mervyn Silva of Kelaniya, who became notorious for being a public nuisance, under the previous regime. He is, however, better than the latter in that he does not pounce on the media or lick the boots of his boss. more..

Jun 30 (CT) Recently the JVP has handed over a proposed 20th Amendment to the Constitution as a Private Members Bill seeking to completely abolish the Executive Presidency. There is a view, that absolute power vested in the Executive Presidency, in the past, has caused opportunity for absolute corruption and abuse of power. As a result many critics have pointed out that abolition of the Executive Presidency is absolutely necessary in the process of formation of a new Constitution. more..

June 30 (Roar) Local Govt Elections took place a few months back after a delay which was apparently caused by the political power struggles more than technical issues. Provincial Council Elections are expected soon. However, there are once more rumors of delay, due to the political issues, more than the technicalities. Elections Commission, meanwhile, is conducting awareness campaigns on the slogan Vote is your right, pointing out more..

June 30 (Island) A fast-bowler of the West Indies� side of the 1990s, the currently 50-year-old Ian Raphael Bishop is now a good observer of the game. From his com box, the experienced former West Indies pacie has seen the present generation of Sri Lanka cricketers evolving through the last decade or so. Here are the views of the former lanky fast-bowler Bishop who took a career-best of 6-40 against Australia in 1993. He took 161 wickets in 43 Tests & 118 wickets in 84 ODIs. more..

June 30 (DM) Minister Thalatha Atukorale said the suggestion made by some people to setup separate regional Courts to curb underworld activities would lead the country into a situation which prevailed before 2015. She said this at the end of a visit to Welikada Prison and pointed out that nobody should ever think of such a step which would result in labelling the country as a place where the underworld was thriving. �Police and the Judiciary have jointly launched a mechanism to more..

June 30 (FT) Sri Lanka�s construction sector is increasingly played by Foreign Direct Investments (FDI), rather than locally-generated funds. The main reason: The sector�s annual output value is now totalling to a huge $ 3 billion, without even counting the value of mega projects such as the Colombo Port City of Hambantota Port-related constructions. �SL construction sector has become increasingly responsive to our FDI flows� more..

June 30 (DN) Test opener and SL A skipper Dimuth Karunaratne warmed up for next month�s two-Test series against South Africa with a determined innings of 161 on the fourth and final day of the first four-day unofficial test against Bangladesh A which ended in a draw at Chittagong yesterday. Karunaratne who missed the West Indies tour due to a finger injury showed that he had fully recovered by hitting 23 fours and one six in 165-ball knock that saw SL A end their second innings at 262-2. more..

June 30 (FT) Marina Square, one of the largest condominium projects to be developed via a joint venture between Access Engineering, China Harbour Engineering Company Lanka, and Singaporean retailer Mustafa�s Ltd., broke ground recently on a five-acre site in northern Colombo. Walkers Pilling, a subsidiary of MTD Walkers, was awarded with the pilling contract for the mixed-use development project. With 1068 apartments and over 36 floors across five towers, more..

June 30 (FT) Sri Lanka�s trade deficit widened in April on a sharp increase of imports, driven largely on increases in vehicle imports and unchanged export revenue but reserves hit a historic high of $ 9.9 billion, Central Bank said. SL�s external sector strengthened in April 2018 with continuous inflows to the financial account of the balance of payments (BOP) despite the mixed performance demonstrated in the current account. more..

June 30 (Hindu) India can have the biggest political impact on Sri Lanka�s election, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said, adding that he hoped India will not meddle with Sri Lanka�s internal political affairs. He made the comment in an interview to The Daily Mirror on Thursday, responding to a question on the possible influence of the West and India on the Sri Lankan presidential election, likely to be held by the end of 2019. It is not that big, Mr. Rajapaksa said, more..

June 30 (GDI) Macedonia is seeking to intensify political dialogue with Sri Lanka and elevate relations between both countries to a higher level. The Ambassador of Sri Lanka in Germany Eng. Karunasena Hettiarachchi, concurrently accredited as Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Republic of Macedonia, presented credentials to Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, President of the Republic of Macedonia at a ceremony held at the Presidential Palace in Skopje, the Foreign Ministry said today. more..

June 30 (FT) Minister Champika Ranawaka yesterday said that the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will be loaning out $ 1.7 billion to fund the proposed light rail transport (LRT) project from Malabe IT Park to Pettah. The Minister was speaking at his Ministry after officially being presented with the feasibility study report of the project by JICA Sri Lanka Chief Representative Fusato Tanaka. more..

June 30 (FT) Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera has backed Sri Lanka�s flexible exchange rate policy, pointing out that currencies in regional markets have also depreciated against the dollar and insisting it has assisted policy makers to maintain a stable macroeconomic environment. Speaking at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce AGM, Minister highlighted the depreciation of other currencies pointing out that they have depreciated more against the dollar more..

June 30 (GDI) The govt has decided to offer farmers insurance free of charge for six varieties of crops from the Yala season 2018. Under this scheme, Agricultural and Agrarian Insurance Board will provide agri insurance free for onion, potatoes, maize, soybeans and chilies. In the case of cultivation damage Rs. 40,000 per acre or Rs. 100,000 per hectare will be paid as claim benefits. Govt has already directed the necessary funds amounting Rs. 5.228 b to respective banks. more..

June 30 (CT) Deputy Solicitor General Dilan Ratnayake, representing the Attorney General, told Colombo Additional Magistrate Isuru Nettikumarage that the Navy Commander had informed the CID that reports regarding Navy officers who were deployed to the security convoy of Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family, were not to be found at the Navy Shipping Parakrama. Ratnayake was addressing the Court when more..

June 30 (SL) Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) is alarmed by the recent spate of violence in SL, including the custodial death this weekend, the death of a police constable and the inability of the authorities to contain the violence and bring perpetrators to justice. CPA says the incidents are evocative of a time when excessive force and extrajudicial practices was commonplace, with a complete disregard towards the guarantees provided in the Constitution & procedural safeguards. more..

June 30 (DN) Ratmalana Airport is poised to undergo expansion, said Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva recently. The minister said he managed to get about 25 acres of land in the Ratmalana airport released by paying Rs725 million to the air force to relocate their hangers elseware. But this will not fully solve the problem to help the private entrepreneurs who want to come into the Ratmalana Airport to commence aviation related businesses, as there was a huge demand, he said. more..

June 30 (Island) Attorney General�s Dept informed the Fort Magistrate�s Court that ex-SL Ambassador to Russia Udayanga Weeratunga was currently in jail in the UAE and, therefore, he would not be able to arrive in SL of his own volition to appear in Court over the MiG aircraft deal. Senior State Counsel Udara Karunathilaka, appearing for the AG told Fort Magistrate that a warrant had been issued on Weeratunga, on Interpol Red List, more..

June 30 (PO) Captain Dinesh Chandimal and his wife, Isika Jayasekara, have thanked the team manager Asanka Gurusinha for extending support even during skipper�s bad time on Windies tour. �With one of the best and qualitative human being.. we would say thank you everything that you have done for us.. Whatever, good time or bad time, you were with us�, captain�s wife has said on social media. Obviously, wife was referring to the recent ball tampering allegations as bad times more..

June 30 (CT) The Court of Appeal yesterday (29), issued an Interim Injunction against the decision taken by Chief Minister of the Northern Province C.V. Wigneswaran to remove P. Deniswaran from the position of Provincial Minister of Fisheries and Transport. The petition filed by Deniswaran, seeking a Court Order declaring his removal, from the Ministerial portfolio, as illegal, was taken up before a Bench comprising Justices Kumuduni Wickramasinghe and Janaka de Silva. more..

June 30 (CT) In what appears to be a complete U-turn from the assurances the Govt has so far given, regarding the Chinese not occupying the Hambantota Port for military activities, PM Ranil Wickremesinghe said Sri Lanka will not do anything to resist an invasion if Chinese troops land in Hambantota. �What can one Sri Lankan military division do against such opposition,� he asked rhetorically delivering the keynote address at more..