Jun 21 (DM) Sri Lanka Thowheed Jamath (SLTJ) President A.K. Hisham said he had informed intelligence officers that the mastermind behind the Easter Sunday attacks Zaharan Hashim had come to Akkaraipattu in a Prado a month prior to when the attacks took place. Testifying before the Parliament Select Committee (PSC) appointed to probe the circumstances behind the Easter Sunday attack, he said more..

Jun 21 (DM) Though not officially announced, President Maithripala Sirisena would be the absolute choice of the SLFP as its presidential candidate at the forthcoming polls, UPFA General Secretary Mahinda Amaraweera said yesterday. He added that the SLFP�s hope was that the SLPP would also toe the line ultimately and select President Sirisena as their presidential candidate because no candidate could win more..

Jun 21 (AD) Nearly 45 train services have been cancelled so far due to the ongoing strike action by railway trade unions. The General Manager of Sri Lanka Railways, M.J. D. Fernando, stated that only 10 trains have operated since this morning. This includes 9 office trains and the Yal Devi train. Accordingly, nine commuter trains from Colombo to Kandy, Rambukkana, Maho, Chilaw, Galle and Matara had operated. more..

Jun 21 (DM) The US has downgraded Sri Lanka in its annual Trafficking in Persons Report which was released on Thursday. The report said the Govt of SL does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. �However, it is making significant efforts to do so,� it said. The 2019 Trafficking in Persons Report said some of the efforts taken by Sri Lanka included convicting more traffickers than previous years, more..

Jun 21 (Island) Kegalle District MP and Chairman of the UNP Kabir Hashim, who quit ministerial portfolios on June 3 in support of Vanni District MP Rishad Bathiudeen, was sworn in as a minister again, on Wednesday before Prez Sirisena, without the consent of the party, according to political sources. Sources said that though only Hashim was to take oaths before Prez Sirisena at the Prez Secretariat on Wednesday morning, more..

Jun 21 (CT) Today marks the second month after Bloody Easter Sunday which killed 258 and injured 495, according to latest reports.Bloody Easter Sunday was perpetrated by locally based Islamist terrorists, inspired by ISIS, whose main targets were Christians and White Caucasoids, the perennial enemy of Islamists, dating back to the 10th Century Crusades. Consequently they targeted three churches holding Easter Sunday services at Kotahena, Negombo and Batticaloa and more..

Jun 21 (FT) There are strict laws and rules in force to ensure the honesty and integrity of people�s representatives in all countries where there is a democratic system of governance. People�s representatives elected by public vote are prohibited to pursue business transactions, in whatever form, with the Govt. Whoever is engaged in business transactions or has any such interests with the State is not qualified to contest elections, to be elected to the Executive or the Legislature as more..

Jun 21 (AD) Department of Meteorology says that the windy condition over the island and showery condition in the south-western part of the country is likely to continue during the next few days. There is a high possibility for strong gusty winds up to 50-60 kmph to occur in Western, Central, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, North-western and North-central provinces and in Trincomalee district. Fairly strong gusty winds up to 40-50 kmph are expected elsewhere. more..

Jun 21 (DM) Justice Minister Thalatha Athukorala said that Minister Sajith Premadasa will definitely be the next president of the country and that he would get the blessings of PM Ranil Wickremesinghe in this regard. She made this prediction on the occasion of the 204th model village, named Katurodagama, that was constructed at Bungiriya in Kahawatta after being vested to the public yesterday under the patronage of Minister of Housing and Construction, Sajith Premadasa. more..

Jun 21 (ABC) A SL doctor has been sentenced to 3 years in prison and faces deportation for sexually assaulting a patient at Bunbury Regional Hospital, an act described by a judge as a gross breach of trust. Priyantha Dayananda, a qualified neurosurgeon who was working as a surgical registrar at Bunbury Hospital had been found guilty of aggravated sexual penetration. Judge Belinda Lonsdale said it was likely that more..

Jun 21 (PSL) President Sirisena emphasized that racketeers should not be allowed to destroy the lands of the country. He said that ownership of the lands should be enjoyed by the public and a land policy must be rapidly implemented. The President gave these instructions during a meeting held at the Prez Secretariat regarding the amendments to the Land Act, today (20). During this meeting, Prez pointed out that the prime responsibility of the govt should be to ensure the innocent farmers more..

Jun 21 (Island) The PCoI probing irregularities at SriLankan Airlines, SriLankan Catering and Mihin Lanka received 25 affidavits, yesterday. These affidavits cover a number of areas including 64 station audits of the two airlines, flights, i. e. a flight chartered by former President Rajapaksa from Mihin Lanka to travel to London and back, loans and facilities obtained from foreign banks, using pilots on their days off and paying them large sums of money for those extra shifts as well as more..

Jun 21 (AD) The Sectoral Oversight Committee on Education recommends that the govt should take over the Batticaloa campus under provisions of Emergency Regulations. The report of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Education and Human Resources Development, regarding the controversial Sharia Uni in Batticaloa, was presented to the Parliament today by the committee�s Chairman MP Ashu Marasinghe. more..

Jun 21 (Island) Although Colombo Port holds a key position in container traffic and transit shipping in the region, the Jaya Container Terminal (JCT) would be upgraded to handle large shipping. Some 20 years since its establishment, influx of large container shipping would necessitate modernization of infrastructure and replacement of cranes to ensure Colombo�s efficient handling of cargo and transit shipping would attract terminal operators, chairman, SLPA Kavan Ratnayake said. more..

Jun 21 (EN) Sri Lanka's Mercedes Benz dealer Diesel & Motor Engineering Plc (DIMO) has reduced margins to absorb part of a steep currency collapse in a bid to win customers, though the rupee has appreciated in recent months, a top official said. "Exchange rate risk is a massive one for us. We are dealing with Europe and Euro is a very volatile currency for our market so that is heavily impacting us," General Manager (Mercedes-Benz) Rajeev Pandithage told EconomyNext. more..

Jun 21 (AFP) Sri Lanka's chief prosecutor on Friday announced charges against a top prison officer and an elite commando for the killing of 27 inmates in a notorious rights case. Attorney General Dappula de Livera said he wanted a special fast track trial for Prisons Commissioner Emil Lamahewage and police commando Moses Rangajeewa over the execution-style killings in Nov 2012. more..

Jun 21 (Island) A black jaguar or Panthera genus, popularly known as Puma, will be the latest addition to the National Zoological Gardens in Dehiwela. The female jaguar will reach Sri Lanka today (21). The jaguar is third largest of the big cat family after the tiger and the lion and it is the largest of all the big cats in the Americas. National Zoological Gardens, Director General, Dhammika Malsinghe told The Island that the Jaguar would come from ARTIS Amsterdam Royal Zoo. more..

Jun 21 (NR) Court of Appeal today ordered the evidence hearing of the case filed against President of the GMOA, Anuruddha Padeniya on charges of contempt of court to be taken up for hearing on the 04th of September. The order was issued by a two-member bench comprising of judges Shiran Gunarathne and Mahinda Samayawardene when the case was taken up for hearing today. The Appeals Court also ordered the evidence hearing to be conducted before Judges Shiran more..

Jun 21 (DM) JVP MP Sunil Handunnetti alleged that the govt was planning to handover the Sewanagala and Pelwatte sugar factories to Minister Daya Gamage through the Revival of Underperforming Enterprises or Underutilised Assets (repeal) Bill. He told parliament that the two factories had assets amounting to Rs. 1,257 million and that 10,000 people would lose their livelihoods if they were privatised again. more..

Jun 21 (AD) UNP MP Mujibur Rahman says that the Easter Sunday attacks had derailed the govt�s progress and claimed that there is a certain group of individuals who waited for this bomb to explode in order to reverse their course. He alleged that for certain opposition members the suicide blasts were like celebrating the New Year as they kept on talking about it and admiring it. The MP charged that these politicians are looking to consolidate their power while treading over the corpses of more..

Jun 21 (EN) The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has included Expolanka Holdings, HNB Assurance, Janashakthi Insurance Co., and Melstacorp in the S&P Sri Lanka 20 index, which tracks the top 20 largest and most liquid stocks, in its latest revision. They replace Ceylon Tobacco Co., Nations Trust Bank, Richard Pieris & Company and Tokyo Cement Company (Lanka) at the 2019 mid-year semiannual rebalancing of the index, the CSE said in a statement. more..

Jun 21 (Island) The members of the PCoI probing irregularities under the present administration had a heated argument with the witness Dr. Priyantha Atapattu of the Health Ministry when the latter said that though the govt had acquired the Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital as a matter of policy, it had not yet come under the Health Ministry. He said that the takeover process was ongoing and it would eventually come under more..

Jun 21 (DM) The UNP will launch its election campaign from July 1, General Secretary and Minister, Akila Viraj Kariyawasam said today. He told a news conference that this was decided at a meeting attended by the UNF Cabinet ministers and PM Ranil Wickremesinghe. "A four-member committee comprising Ministers Rajitha Senaratne, Ruwan Wijewardene, Mr. Kariyawasam and MP Mujibur Rahman has been appointed to monitor the election campaign,� the minister said more..

Jun 21 (DM) Cut off marks for university entrance for 2019 will be released by the second week of next month, Acting Higher Education Minister Lucky Jayawaradane said today. He told parliament that it was earlier planned to release the cut off marks this month but it was delayed due to the Easter Sunday attack. The acting minister said this in response to a question asked by Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa about the delay in releasing cut off marks. more..

Jun 21 (Island) Attorney General had not approved the lease agreement signed between the Ministry of Agriculture and D. P. Jayasinghe company on renting a building for the Ministry at Rs. 21 million per month, but former Secretary to the Ministry, B. Wijeratne told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in April 2016 the AG had approved the deal, Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) was told. more..

Jun 21 (TC) As Facebook grapples with the spread of hate speech on its platform, it is introducing changes that limit the spread of messages in two countries where it has come under fire in recent years: Sri Lanka and Myanmar. In a blog post on Thursday evening, Facebook said that it was �adding friction� to message forwarding for Messenger users in Sri Lanka so that people could only share a particular message a certain number of times. The limit is currently set to five people. more..

Jun 21 (CT) It was the national cricketers of Sri Lanka who were caught up in a deadly terror attack on the tour of Pakistan in 2009. They had a close shave in Lahore and the situation was so bad that the cricketers were airlifted from the middle of the ground. Pakistan thereafter remained isolated in world cricket as hosts and very few international teams have agreed to visit them in over a decade now. However, things have looked to improve in the recent months as more..

Jun 21 (AD) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe has met with Dr Hiroto Izumi, Special Advisor to his Japanese counterpart, at the Temple Trees this morning (21). The duo has discussed in detail on the plans to modernize the Kandy city while preserving its historical heritage, similar to that of the city of Kyoto, as well as on the Japanese govt�s support for the matter. Dr Izumi has assured the PM that the govt of Japan is ready to extend its more..

Jun 22 (CT) Shock of the Easter Sunday bomb blasts shattered within minutes the comforting beliefs of a nation that had settled down to recline smugly in peace for generations to come. Lulled by the sense of security that restored confidence in the dawn of a new era at the end of Tamil Tiger terror in May 2009 no one expected Muslim bombs to blast our faith in a non-violent society fought and won in a 33-year-old war (i.e., from the declaration of war in the Vadukoddai Resolution in May 1976 more..

Jun 22 (CT) Hate is becoming mainstreamed. Walls � which tormented previous generations, and have never yielded any sustainable solution to any problem � are returning while bridges are being burnt down. Barriers of suspicion are rising, snaking through and between our societies. These trends do not make them safe: they make them weaker. Piece by piece, these mutually reinforcing trends are shearing off the protections that maintain our diversity, integrity, mutual respect, and more..

Jun 22 (DM) �I feel sorry about the future of this country. But I heard that Chamal Rajapaksa is going to contest the Presidency and that is something we can be happy about. I also invite Mayantha Dissanayake to join hands with Chamal and help safeguard this country. Future looks bleak. After Gamini Dissanayake�s era we haven�t witnessed a solid leadership. UNP members don�t love this country. more..

Jun 22 (Roar) The field of reportage wedding photography is an enigma to most people. It is an unobtrusive way of documenting a wedding day, telling the story of the people involved through photography while lending it a unique perspective from the mind of the photographer. Geeshan Bandara is an experienced photographer who has made this his career. For nearly a decade, he has told stories through vivid photography, conveying an array of emotions alongside the narrative more..

Jun 22 (CT) The Earth�s Eco-civilization will require citizens to produce and consume sustainable, and lead sustainable lifestyles to create a sustainable society, said Prof. Mohan Munasinghe at public lecture on Sustainable Future for Sri Lanka, organised by the Cambridge University Society (CUS) of Sri Lanka. An erudite audience of leading SL intellectuals consisting of alumni of Cambridge Uni, UK and their guests were present last week, at this lecture Prof. Munasinghe, more..

Jun 22 (DM) Eyebrows have been raised as to why the 5-member Ministerial Committee headed by PM Ranil Wickremasinghe, that was appointed by the Cabinet of Ministers to propose urgent remedial measure to avoid power cuts, took a decision on April 10 to announce an emergency situation in the country and gave permission to the CEB to procure emergency power, when the country was not facing an emergency situation. more..

Jun 22 (GV) In the run up to the 2014 Aluthgama riot, the rabble-rousing monk Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara coined the term Aba Saranai, a battle-cry of hate totally at variance with the teachings of the Buddha. Now the most venerable chief prelate of the Asgiriya Chapter has taken the concept of Aba Saranai to its logical conclusion. During a recent sermon, he advocates the boycotting of Muslim owned businesses, disseminates fake news about a doctor in Matale destroying more..

Jun 22 (DN) In today�s world, television and movies made by giants in the industry dominate and have taken the centre stage. Images and stories are inevitably exaggerated, caricatured or fantasized far from what actually exists. In fact, a purposeful analysis of what is shown on television with regard to Islam and Muslims indicate a disproportionate exaggeration of war, attacks and violence identified with Islam. To drive the message home, such news or documentary subtly maligning more..

Jun 22 (CI) England were 170 for 5. They required 63 more runs to win and they had five wickets and 70 deliveries in hand. Their remaining batsmen had 12 Test and 54 first-class centuries between them. They had one foot in the semi-finals. But then Moeen Ali took a chance. He must have seen the fielder on the long-off fence, but he backed himself to clear him. Instead his lofted drive was well taken by Isuru Udana and Sri Lanka were thrown a lifeline. It was a dismissal that precipitated a slide more..

Jun 22 (Island) In an article titled, Have they not read article 43? Dr. Nihal Jayawickrama has addressed the powers of the next President of SL under the 19th Amendment stating: "He/she will be Head of State, the Head of the Executive (i.e. the Govt) and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. That is precisely what President William Gopallawa was under the 1972 Constitution �. What he will not be able to do is seek to implement his policy in respect of a particular subject more..