Feb 17 (CT) The recent civil war in Sri Lanka�s North and East was one of the most ruthless in South Asia. Dr. Suren Raghavan, Northern Province Governor, expressed his views on the post- war period reaching a decade in May this year. He said, that presently people in the North live in an atmosphere where they strive hard to erase the scars of a devastating war which had haunted them and the country at large for three decades, more..

Feb 17 (ST) My dear Madush, I didn�t think I would ever be writing to you but I thought I must since you are the most talked about person these days. Newspapers, television talk shows and even speeches in Parliament discuss your activities every day. With such publicity, one would have thought you were a presidential candidate! It is alleged, Madush, that you are the mastermind behind much of the illegal drug trade in Paradise. If that is true, you must face the consequences because more..

Feb 17 (Island) Prez Sirisena seems to be showing signs of wanting to contest for the presidency, once again, this year even though he came into power, pledging to abolish the executive presidency. There is nothing surprising in that because except for the first two presidents, everyone else came into power, pledging to abolish the position to which they were seeking to get elected. The aggressive initiative he has taken against drugs and corruption and environmental degradation more..

Feb 17 (Island) The Rainbow nation put up a splendid show hosting the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup. The end of apartheid had seen South Africa becoming a major sporting hub. The Rugby World Cup that the country hosted in 1995 was hugely popular and Hollywood�s Clint Eastwood went onto make a movie titled Invictus with Morgan Freeman playing the role of President Nelson Mandela and Matt Daman playing Fran�ois Pienaar, the captain of Springboks. more..

Feb 17 (SO) Sri Lanka today faces another constitutional crisis. At the centre of the crisis is the dynamic between the Constitutional Council, a creation of the 19th Amendment, and the executive presidency, itself a creation of the 1978 Constitution. Both the executive powers of the President and the powers of the Constitutional Council are the laws of the land, set into stone through our country�s cherished democratic process. It is a grave threat to the foundations of our very democracy more..

Feb 17 (CT) The leaders of the opposition alliance, formerly referred to as the Joint Opposition met at the residence of former Minister and the Chairman of SLPP G.L. Peiris earlier this week to discuss about future elections and forming an alliance with the SLFP. While many leaders were present, many of the prominent MPs like Kumara Welgama and a few others who used to attend such meetings earlier were not being informed more..

Feb 17 (ST) Many years ago, two local university batchmates coincidentally happened to work on a project here with foreign funding. While one man had worked and lived in SL all his life, the other had migrated, was earning a salary several times more abroad than his erstwhile university colleague. Both, however, were equally brilliant, capable and efficient. The locally-based worker chose to remain in SL and be in the public sector � perhaps to serve the country � while his colleague ventured more..

Feb 17 (Island) Sensei Onodera, chairman of the International Tenta Onodera Friendship Association of Japan and several times world champion of full contact karate arrived in Sri Lanka recently to conduct full contact fighting karate seminar in SL. Sensei Onodera�s seminar was organised by the chief instructor of FSA Kenshinkan Karate Organization Renshi Nissanka and Assistant Instructor Sempai Wijesingha. Sensei Onodera has won nearly 110 full contact karate c'ships more..

Feb 17 (SO) Former SL captain Marvan Atapattu was one of the most technically sound batsman that Sri Lanka has ever produced. From the early Test era of SL, Atapattu earned a prominent place when it came to technicality after Sidath Wettimuny, Ranjan Madugalle, Roshan Mahanama and Hashan Tillekeratne. Young Atapattu was playing junior cricket for Ananda when his school�s first X1 captain Arjuna more..

Feb 17 (ST) After the successful conclusion of Junior and Intermediate National Rowing Championship 2019, the Diyawanna Rowing Centre will gear up to host the 34th National Rowing Championship in less than couple of weeks. This year�s National Championships takes a unique turn, as the event is conducted in two segments; Junior and Intermediate and Open whereas in all previous years the National Championships was combined under age categories and open. more..

Feb 17 (SLN) Overall Commander of the three Iranian naval ships; Bushehr, Lavan and Bayandore, Commander Resa Buddhagi along with the other three Commanding Officers, Lieutenant Commander Mahmood Badvi, Lieutenant Commander Hasan Beygi and Lieutenant Commander Mohammad Bagher Rahnama called on Commander of the Navy Vice Admiral Piyal De Silva at the Naval Hq in Colombo, today (16). They held cordial discussions on the matters of bilateral importance and more..

Feb 17 (CI) I'm a little tired now, I don't know what to say. But for 309 minutes, Kusal Perera knew exactly what to do. Sri Lanka were rank underdogs in this fight. They were pummeled 2-0 in Australia, never even getting close to putting up a total of 250. Their captain was sacked. Their team stripped for parts. Rookies few had heard off were put on the plane to South Africa and now, after four days of outrageous cricket in Durban, more..

Feb 17 (AD) Naval personnel attached to the Southern Naval Command in coordination with Police STF-Katharagama, apprehended 14 Sri Lankans, who were secretly staying at a lodge in Thissamaharama preparing for an illegal migration attempt to Reunion Island by boat. The apprehended group consisted of 3 children, 3 women and 8 men while they are residents of Chilaw, Negombo, Kuliyapitiya, Bangadeniya, Thissamaharama and Delgoda areas. more..

Feb 17 (CT) 78*: The final-wicket partnership between Kusal Perera and Vishwa Fernando - the highest-ever in a successful chase. The previous was 57 between Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mushtaq Ahmed against Australia in Karachi in 1994. Perera-Fernando stand is also the biggest such partnership in any first-class match, going past the 77 between Thomas Leather and Ron Oxenham for Australians against Madras in 1935-36. 13: Instances of a side winning a Test by one wicket. more..

Feb 17 (ST) A 72 year-old taxpaying pensioner with additional income from his consultancy services for a private firm faced an unexpected shock of his life when he browsed online to determine the tax returns to be paid. His tax bill including arrears had gone up to Rs. 125,000 depite him making payments quarterly on time, and it was discovered that this was because of blunders made by heads of the IT division, computer operators and more..

Feb 17 (ST) Sri Lanka is likely to approach US authorities to lift sanctions on the country�s trade with Iran on tea and rubber exports. SL Tea Board Chairman Lucille Wijewardena said that they had now approached the Foreign Ministry to carry out negotiations with the US authorities to allow for trade with Iran on tea and rubber. He noted that the previously thought out barter system was not a viable option and that directly calling for the US to intervene by lifting the sanctions on more..

Feb 17 (SO) Sports followers have expressed outrage over the assault of a rugby player from St. Peter�s College at the hands of his coach Sanath Martis during a preseason friendly match against DS Senanayake College recently. Incident went viral on social media and one of the followers of sport to move into the defence of the assaulted player was former cricket captain Mahela Jayawardena who tweeted that the assault on the player was abuse. �It�s not coaching, it�s abuse. more..

Feb 17 (CT) The fate of underworld operative Makandure Madush and some 30 others, who were arrested during a midnight bash at a plush hotel in Dubai on 5 February, will be known after the reports on their blood and urine samples, are received, a lawyer appearing for two men said yesterday. Madush and the rest are currently being treated as suspects. The group, including popular singer Amal Perera and his son Nadeemal, more..

Feb 17 (CI) His team ended up on the losing side in one of the most dramatic finishes in recent memory, but after South Africa's one-wicket defeat to SL in the first Test at Kingsmead, captain Faf du Plessis insisted: "This is what Test cricket should be." "It should show people, whether it's three or four or five days, that it is still the number one format if you see games of cricket like this," du Plessis said. "It's incredible the amount of times the game goes to the opposition and more..

Feb 17 (AD) Three schoolboys have been taken into police custody today (16) for consuming alcohol inside a tuition class at a Buddhist temple in Hatton. Hatton Police said that the three students in question, who are preparing to sit for the G.C.E. O/L examination this year, had purchased a bottle of alcohol from a liquor store in the Hatton Town. The students had reportedly arrived very early before the tuition class had even started and had drunk almost the entire 750ml liquor bottle. more..

Feb 17 (AD) Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa says that no development activities will take place in the country when there is no agreement between Prez and PM. The problem at the moment is that the PM and Prez are fighting each other, he said in a recent interview with The Hindu. �When the Executive and the PM they fight each other or when they do not agree to anything then nothing will happen in the country. more..

Feb 17 (EN) SL's ceramic tile makers are snarled in a plethora mining and transport regulations blocking access to raw materials and increasing costs, officials said amid a call for greater protection. SL's ceramic firms are struggling to get raw materials, with a plethora of mining and transport regulations making it difficult to access raw materials. A company trying to mine clay has to go through 16 different agencies making it extremely difficult for ceramic firms even to mine their own land more..

Feb 17 (CT) The Navy launched an inquiry yesterday on a female rating, who allegedly hanged herself, leaving a suicide note that claimed her decision was taken due to a dispute at the base she was attached with. The 22-year-old rating, identified as Ayesha Sewwandi, was attached to the Galle Navy Base at the time of the incident. She allegedly hanged herself inside her room at her parent�s home in Mahawila-Urugasmanhandiya, Naval Spokesman, Lt. Cmdr Isuru Suriyabandara said. more..

Feb 17 (ST) Senior DIG for Southern Range Ravi Wijegunewardene has been transferred to Police Headquarters, as CID detectives are probing the abduction and alleged murder of two persons. Police sources said last night that he may face arrest together with a group of other police officers over the incident. According to initial findings, Manjula Kumara (33) and Rasin Chinthaka (31) had been picked up by persons in Police uniforms more..

Feb 17 (SO) Minister Navin Dissanayake minced no words when he called upon plantation companies to manage their estates well, making it a vibrant industry bringing in foreign exchange to the country to help raise the quality of life of workers. The minister said last week that plantation companies should only manage the estates and leave the ownership to the people. �Companies should not act as if they are the owners of the estates which were handed over to them only to manage. more..

Feb 17 (ST) Nawaloka Hospitals, one of the pioneer private hospitals in Sri Lanka, said this week it would vigorously contest an action instituted by an Indian company in a SL court to wind up the hospital company. In a notice to the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), the local company said a �false and malicious application to wind up the company has been filed by a former Indian joint venture partner Metropolis Healthcare Lanka (Pvt) Ltd in the High Court on Oct 12, 2018.� more..

Feb 17 (CT) The Embassy of UAE in Sri Lanka has refused visas for a special Police team, which was preparing to go to UAE on a fact finding mission, regarding the group, including underworld kingpin Makandure Madush, who have been remanded in Dubai, highly reliable sources said. The Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Hemasiri Fernando had appointed a team of six senior Police officers to go to the UAE to more..

Feb 17 (ST) Specialists from Japan�s Coastguard (JCG) trained 50 Sri Lanka officials on Oil Spill Incident Management, from Feb 5-15, at the Advance Training Centre in Mirissa, to further strengthen maritime safety in SL. Chief Guest at the closing ceremony of the training programme held on Friday, at the Colombo Port, was Special Advisor to the PM of Japan, Kentaro Sonoura, MP, here at the invitation of SL Coastguard Director General Rear Admiral Samantha Wimalathinge. more..

Feb 17 (CT) This year, the Govt�s borrowing needs would be Rs 2 trillion, excluding having to meet maturing Treasury (T) Bill liabilities, which will include a further borrowing of Rs 750 billion, National Economic Council�s (NEC�s) Deputy Secretary General C.J.P. Siriwardena said yesterday (15). Therefore, Sri Lanka�s total borrowing needs this year would be in the region of Rs 2.7 trillion, Siriwardena, speaking at a seminar on public debt organized in Colombo, said. more..

Feb 17 (ST) Tensions are growing rapidly within the SLPP-led JO, now set to form a common alliance, over delays in declaring its candidate for this year�s prez election. A formidable section, staunchly backing fmr Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, now the front-runner, is locked in a battle with the leadership. They say the delay is preventing them from making preparations and formulating a strategy for his victory. more..

Feb 17 (Island) No reasonable person will accuse this column of a pro-Rajapaksa or pro-SLPP bias, I am on record calling them financially corrupt proto-fascists. But it is not possible to refrain from calling a spade a spade, and when necessary a bloody shovel. This govt is so adept at self-destruction that it no longer needs an opposition. A public outcry and trade union action by Customs personnel forced Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera and the Cabinet to tuck their tails between their legs more..

Feb 17 (Island) SL political circles were surprised at the news that Mahinda Rajapaksa had been invited to and did deliver the inaugural address, last Saturday, at the third annual Huddle, in Bengaluru, Karnataka, a thought or ideas conclave organized by The Hindu Group, publishers of the prestigious Chennai daily, The Hindu, and other journals of note. To the govt circles in Colombo, the surprise may have been rather unpleasant given the intended and unintended symbolism of more..

Feb 17 (Island) In a few months, we, the Lankan voters, will be asked to make a choice that history may well term tragic. UNP, SLFP, SLPP & JVP have all expressed an interest in entering the prez race. President Sirisena, if he is insensible enough to contest, will find himself in the ignominious position of vying with the JVP for the third place. At the next prez election, real battle will be between the nominees of UNP & SLPP. more..

Feb 17 (ST) A four-day tour of the north by PM Ranil Wickremesinghe to expedite development projects there also saw some wit and repartee. He was at the District Secretariat, chairing a review meeting on various development projects. Many were the complaints he heard. One of the participants complained that the Wildlife Conservation Department was periodically issuing Gazette notifications, arbitrarily declaring more..

Feb 17 (CT) As a result of unsolicited proposals being arbitrarily implemented by the Govt sans proper tender procedures, in the past three years, the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) is facing a massive debt crisis. According to financial documents, total debt incurred stands at Rs 385 billion. From the debt of Rs 385 billion, Rs 253 billion has to be paid to a number of local and foreign banks. more..

Feb 17 (EN) Sri Lanka has been placed on a new European Union list of high risk third countries where bank have to exercise extra due diligence which fall short of anti-money laundering criteria set by the EU. Sri Lanka was placed on an EU blacklist of high risk countries in 2018, with the European parliament vote confirming the draft list of the European Commission. The new list of 23 countries based on a revised methodology more..

Feb 17 (CT) A chief cause for Sri Lanka�s bourgeoning debt was its 26- year-old separatist war, the National Economic Council�s (NEC�s) Deputy Secretary General C.J.P. Siriwardena said. The NEC functions under Prez Sirisena. He further said that the currency depreciation would have had added a further Rs 100-200 billion to the country�s total debt stock, last year (2018) alone. The US dollar which was Rs 4.76 and more..

Feb 17 (SO) It has been almost a year since the Auditor General presentad a damning report highlighting the unsatisfactory performance of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC), but little has been done by the authorities to follow up on its recommendations. In a special audit report in March last year, Auditor General Gamini Wijesinghe made several startling observations on the performance of DWC, more..

Feb 17 (ST) The humble pumpkin is in the news once again due to the bumper crop which has resulted in farmers struggling to get a reasonable price for their produce. In Ampara, A'pura & Moneragala districts, where pumpkins grow in abundance during this time of the year, farmers have been hard hit by falling prices, with some of them giving away their produce free of charge rather than letting them rot and go a waste. more..