Mar 3 (CT) PM and Minister of Law and Order has suffered a blow as he assumed his new portfolio with the unleashing of violence by some Sinhala Buddhist vigilante groups against Muslims at D S Senanayake Veediya, Ampara. The litmus test for the PM as Minister of Law and Order lies in his willingness to take firm action against violence on minorities and making sure law and order prevail. A mosque, a local teashop, many vehicles and other property belonging to Muslims more..

Mar 3 (CT) Recently concluded LG election has created much controversy, expectations and assumptions regrading the present govt. Most of the parties that are opposed to the Unity Govt have regarded this election as a referendum of sorts and said that the results of this election reflected the lack of acceptance of this govt by the masses. Hence there was a call for the govt to stepdown. President who tolerated the high-handed work of the PM used this opportunity to look for a replacement. more..

Mar 3 (Roar) From the plains of Ussangoda, to the mountains of Ritigala and Adam�s Peak, many places in Sri Lanka have featured in folk legends and mythology. Rumassala kanda in the south of the country is one such place. The hill, located in Unawatuna, is in close proximity to the Galle-Matara main road. It can be identified from afar by the small temple that sits on its peak, along with the lush green forest that thrives along more..

Mar 3 (DN) It has now been universally accepted that all living things have to adapt to their environment to survive, or perish. The Tamils living in the inhospitable Dry Zone had to adapt to survive in it, unlike the lucky Sinhalese who live in the lush fertile Wet Zone. Tamils underwent a minor evolution called an Epigenetic Evolution, which involves a minor chemical change in the chromosomes, which had an effect in the bearers� ability to adapt to Dry Zone, as a survival more..

Mar 3 (DN) Ranabima Royal College, a boys�-only secondary school in Gannoruwa, Kandy, founded on Mar 2, 1996, is more than just another government school to train students for the A/L exam. For sure, it does that and with great success. By 2016, it claimed among its alumni more than 300 engineers, 120 doctors, and a variety of other professionals ranging from scientists, Sri Lanka Administrative Service (SLAS) officers, university lecturers and bankers to private sector executives & others. more..

Mar 3 (FT) In the past decade, Govt of Sri Lanka has been aggressively pursuing a campaign against tobacco with a view to reduce or eliminate smoking in the country. In keeping with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which is a set of recommendations made by the World Health Organization (WHO), Sri Lanka has introduced regulations relating to the sale, taxation, pricing and packaging of tobacco products. more..

Mar 3 (CT) It is education that makes an individual knowledgeable and confidence is dependent solely on one's knowledge. It is education that makes a population confident and become capable in applying knowledge rationally. It is from the same resource base that all the productive forces evolve, including political leaders, decision making bureaucrats as well as the beneficiary citizens who play a vital role in achieving national goals. It is the system of education that inhibits the capacity more..

Mar 3 (CT) The disproportionate storm created by the LG election results has finally subsided to a manageable level. Although some bitterness created in some political circles seems to linger still, it is time for the governance to move, in high gear, in order to take the country forward and provide relief to the people, taking the signal given by the voters with a positive attitude. President Maithripala Sirisena's desire to provide relief to the people became amply clear when he summoned more..

Mar 3 (Island) SL's premier healthcare exhibition, MEDICARE 2018 was successfully inaugurated at the BMICH yesterday. In his welcome address, Dr. Amal de Silva, Deputy Director General Medical Services, stated that, �Sri Lanka has maintained good health standards during the past several years within a limited budget. The motto of this big exhibition is to bring in all health care centres under one roof to generate awareness about health and to set a benchmark standard in the country. more..

Mar 3 (Island) It is with great interest and relish that I read Tissa Devendra�s letter titled above, which brought back pleasant memories of my childhood days at Nawalapitiya, where I was born and schooled at Anuruddha College up to Grade Six and thereafter at St. Mary�s College. The reason why my father removed me from Anuruddha was some friction between the Principal of the College M. De. S. Jayaratne and R. E. Jayatilaka, teacher for Sports, who took to politics and ended as more..

Mar 3 (Island) Ali Alleema � the Catching of Elephants � was a humorous piece by famous comedian Eddie Jayamanne in the old days of gramophone record entertainment. We have gone through the vast tragedy of the last Elephant Kraal, and the related song of the Panamurey Eth Raaja, which still brings sad memories. There is much concern today about the plight of the elephants in our jungles, more..

Mar 3 (Island) Water is life. But, the problem with this precious, life-giving fluid is that it readily mixes with politics and becomes highly inflammable to the extent of driving people to extremes. We have witnessed several such conflicts, some of which turned really bloody, during the last few years. In 2013, irate people of Rathupaswala took to the streets, demanding clean water, claiming that their wells had been contaminated by some industrial effluent. more..

Mar 3 (Island) World Junior Tennis Competition (Under-14 Boys & Girls), Junior Davis Cup and Fed Cup (U-16), both sponsored by BNP Paribas, at the Asia-Oceania Zone pre-qualifying level will be held from March 3-18 at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA), Colombo. The World Junior events will be held from March 3-11 while Junior Davis Cup and Fed Cup events will be held from March 10-18. 21 countries are participating including Kuwait, Pakistan, Lebanon, Mongolia, Iran, Qatar, more..

Mar 3 (DN) Sri Lanka under 19 player Jehan Daniel rescued St. Joseph�s from total disaster with a gallant knock of 93 on the opening day of the 84th Battle of the Saints cricket encounter against St. Peter�s College at P. Sara Oval yesterday. Invited to bat first St Joseph�s were dismissed for 195 failing to last the 60 overs allowed for both sides in the first innings. Joes were all out in 53.2 overs. more..

Mar 3 (Island) 'I bring good news; SL Ports Authority made a staggering 13 .2 billion rupee profit for the year 2017. Profit for 2016 was a mere one billion. This was a quantum leap in terms of profit, Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said. 'We have signed with 23 trade unions, that benefits would accrue to them as well. We have every reason to believe that profits for the year 2018 would continue to bring in similar profit levels, he said. He was speaking as chief guest at the ICS annual awards ceremony more..

Mar 3 (CT) Defending league championship, Royal College Colombo will go out favourites in the first match of the inter school rugby league competition against Kingswood College, Kandy to be held at the Royal College Sports Complex in Colombo today. Royal has a good team and includes some very dangerous forwards such as hooker Ibrahim Barrie who is capable of breaching the defence. He was one of the best players for Royal last year and performed well in some important games. more..

Mar 3 (FT) In a frank appraisal of sustainable development in SL, a top finance professional claimed Govt�s short-sighted policies had resulted in complex impacts to the economy, insisting that in reality Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) had become just a number to highlight at forums. �Govt recently came up with a policy report to achieve the SDGs by 2030, which is easier said than done. SL was ranked 4th riskiest country more..

Mar 3 (ST) If I had one word to describe Niluka Madurawe it would be energetic. Our conversation took place during her stay in Melbourne via various means of modern communication but nothing could contain this 17-year-old�s enthusiasm and energy for her sport. Niluka was in Traralgon for the warm up G1 and in Melbourne for the Junior Australian Open Tennis Tournament in January this year. The Australian Open Junior Championships ​is one of the four Junior Grand Slam tournaments more..

Mar 3 (ST) Lankan cricket, after almost two years of running in the wilderness, is now looking to break its shackles, and come out as the unit they are expected to be. But, to do so, they need people of the calibre of former national paceman Graeme Labrooy, who does not mind spending his time to learn what�s going around and where the real faults lie. This is an area confined to experts who are trying to find out how to sustain Lankan cricket, in the manner that brought success to countries more..

Mar 3 (PMD) The inauguration of the programme of renovating of 2400 irrigation tanks was commenced today (2) under the patronage of President Sirisena with the intention of recreating the ancient irrigation development in the country to emerge as a self-sufficient nation. Accordingly old irrigation tanks, which were not renovated for a long period of time, in the North, East, North Western and North Central provinces will be renovated more..

Mar 3 (DM) Mount Lavinia Magistrate ordered to re-remanded former Mount Lavinia Crimes OIC Tissa Sugathapala and former DIG Prasanna Nanayakkara till March 15, in connection with the killing of Sunday Leader's former editor Lasantha Wickramatunga and the concealing of evidence. Anil Silva PC appearing for Mr. Nanayakkara requested bail for his client on the basis the charges filed by the CID was a bailable offense and that his client was suffering from a cardiac ailment. more..

Mar 3 (LBO) Sri Lanka, perhaps, provides the most cautionary tale from their Asia-Pacific markets about over-reliance on China-backed infrastructure development, a research firm said. In a blog post about Asia-Pacific�s road to economic prosperity, Asia Regional Editor of Oxford Business Group, Patrick Cooke said Chinese acquisitions from other countries make emerging nations in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) crosshairs nervous. At the close of last year, SL formally handed over more..

Mar 3 (EN) Land prices in Colombo district, rose over 10% in the half-year ending December 2017 from a year ago, led by commercial properties but appear to be slowing down. The CB said its Land Price Index (LPI), compiled biannually covering the Colombo District, rose 10.4% to Dec 2017, continuing the recent trend in land price movements in the district. �All 3 sub-indices of LPI (Residential, Commercial and Industrial) more..

Mar 3 (DM) Dumping unsegregated garbage at Kerawalapitiya garbage dumping site has been banned from Feb 28, Minister Champika Ranawaka said. Land Reclamation and Development Corporation (LRDC) had conveyed this decision to all local govt bodies. Though the LRDC Chairman had conveyed this decision the relevant authorities in writing, some LG bodies are continuing to dump unsegregated garbage at Kerawalapitiya. The entire administration of K'pitiya garbage dump more..

Mar 3 (CT) Wicket-Keeper batsman Niroshan Dickwella and T20 specialist all rounder Dasun Shanaka has been bought by St Lucia Stars team of the Carrabin premier league (CPL) this year. Lendl Simmons and Martin Guptill fetched the biggest bids while Kieron Pollard was the biggest transfer in the CPL draft. Simmons and Guptill, along with the quartet of Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo and Sohail Tanvir, were paid the maximum price of US$160,000 by their franchises. more..

Mar 3 (Nikkei) Japan is expected to reaffirm its commitment to bolstering bilateral ties with Sri Lanka during an official visit by the Indian Ocean nation's leader this month in an effort to forestall Chinese encroachment in the region. President Sirisena will meet with Japanese PM Shinzo Abe on his March 12-15 trip. His itinerary also includes meeting with Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko. more..

Mar 3 (DN) During a rally held in the Kaudulla area recently, a little girl ran towards President Maithripala Sirisena, hugged and greeted him on arrival. The name of this little visitor who came to meet the President is Dinulya Chanadi who resides in Amunugama area in Medigiriya with her parents. President Sirisena, who engaged in several programmes held in Medigiriya, on Thursday did not forget to visit the house of Dinulya Chanadi and inquired about her well-being. more..

Mar 3 (DN) Diesel and Motor Engineering (DIMO) clinched the overall award as Sri Lanka�s most transparent company at the ACCA Sri Lanka Sustainability Reporting Awards while Hatton National Bank was adjudged the overall runner up. A total of 14 awards were presented at a gala awards ceremony presided by South African HC Robina Marks as the Chief Guest. �The demands of the 21st century urge that companies can no longer operate in the same way as before. more..

Mar 3 (CT) Lower rates of labour force participation distinguish the Northern and Eastern Provinces from the rest of the country, a recent World Bank (WB) report said. The labour force participation rate (LFPR) in the Northern and Eastern Provinces are 46 and 44% respectively, whereas the national average is 53%, it said. LFPR is defined as those in employment as well as those who are seeking employment. more..

Mar 3 (Island) Aligned with SL govt�s strong commitment to support digital adoption and innovation in the IT industry, the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) has successfully led several IT-BPM missions to Australia consecutively during the past few years. Leveraging on its mandate of creating visibility for the nation�s IT-BPM industry and contributing to the national IT industry target of achieving US$ 5 billion in exports by 2022, more..

Mar 3 (FT) The fourth Meeting of the Sri Lanka-Thailand Bilateral Political Consultations was held on 27 and 28 February in Colombo at a senior official level. SL delegation was led by Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary Prasad Kariyawasam and the Thai delegation was headed by Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Busaya Mathelin. SL and Thailand reaffirmed their commitment to further consolidate and advance bilateral, political and economic cooperation. more..

Mar 3 (Island) Legal Draftsman Deepani Kumarajeewa said the final draft of the controversial Bill titled Active Liability Management (ALM) that had been gazetted and also placed on the Order Paper of Parliament on Feb. 19, 2018 had received the approval of the Attorney General. Kumarajeewa said that her department always consulted the AG on bills to be drafted. Legal Draftsman said so when asked her whether more..

Mar 3 (SLN) Sri Lanka Navy Ship (SLNS) Samudura and SLNS Suranimila today (2) left for India from the port of Trincomalee to attend a congregation of littoral navies; popularly known as MILAN conducted biennially by Indian Navy. Two ships set sail from the home port having performed formalities in accordance with naval traditions. A host of senior naval officers including Deputy Area Commander Eastern Naval Area, Commodore Merril Sudarshana was also present on this occasion. more..

Mar 3 (AA) Coast Guard�s western command launched a rescue mission and saved an injured SL fisherman near Suheli Par Island, in Lakshadweep on Tuesday. A request from Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre, Colombo was received at the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, Mumbai for assistance of an injured fisherman onboard Sri Lankan fishing vessel which was fishing at 100 Nautical Mile west of the island. The boat bearing registration number IMUL-A-0507-CHW more..

Mar 3 (CT) Certain members of the Catholic community expressed support for the proposed amendments to the Penal Code Ordinance, No. 2 of 1883 and the Code of Criminal Procedure Act, No. 15 of 1979, for the purposes of extending the permitted instances of the medical termination of pregnancy to include cases of rape, incest, and serious foetal impairment. Issuing a statement, expanding the provisions for abortion, more..

Mar 3 (DM) Today is an important day for Sri Lanka and the world � it is world Wildlife Day with the 2018 theme being Big Cats: Predators under threat. According to the United Nations, on December 20, 2013, at its 68th session, UNGA proclaimed March 03 - the day of signature of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) - as UN World Wildlife Day. The aim was to celebrate and raise awareness of the world�s wild animals and plants. more..

Mar 3 (DM) To celebrate and raise awareness of the world�s wild fauna and flora, the UN General Assembly at its 68th session on Dec 20, 2013 declared March 3 as World Wildlife Day. Similarly the UN General Assembly resolution designated the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora Secretariat as the facilitator for the global observance of this special day for wildlife on the UN calendar. The World Wildlife Day has now become more..

Mar 3 (Reuters) When heavy rain falls in the hills and plains west of Colombo � and in the city itself at the same time - SL�s capital drowns. As runoff from the west rushes into the Kelani River, which empties into the sea just north of Colombo, water begins to spill into the network of canals that cross the city. Gates, built to stop that flow, can hold back the tide � but also mean any rain falling in Colombo itself cannot escape to the river. more..

Mar 3 (Xinhua) The remarkable vision of building a community with shared future for mankind proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping means sharing the prosperity among countries and peoples. This message gives a new hope to many developing countries, said Sri Lankan Ambassador to China, Dr. Karunasena Kodituwakku. �We admire it, we must support it, and we must cooperate with it,� he said. more..