May 7 (DM) The Police had urged parents to drop their children in front of the school gates without parking their vehicles or blocking the traffic, Police Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekera said. He said waiting in vehicles in front of the gates caused huge traffic congestion on roads and it would be an obstruction to the measures that had been taken for the safety of school children. "Parents should keep in mind to make ready their children and their bags before arriving at the gates," he said. more..

May 7 (EN) Daily life in Sri Lanka is returning to normal amid tighter security, after the Easter Sunday bombings, PM Ranil Wickremesinghe said in parliament. "Security forces have managed to bring the country to a safe level," he said. Quoting from a report submitted by Acting IGP Chandana Wickramaratna, Wickremesinghe said economic activity has returned to normal but searches and checks on roads will continue. more..

May 7 (CT) The owner of the land in Wanathawilluwa, where explosives were found recently, is a major UNP supporter, claimed MP Anura Priyadarshana Yapa yesterday. He said this at a Media Conference held at the SLPP headquarters. �In the Wanathawilluwa incident, authorities found explosives that haven�t even been used by the LTTE. But they failed to take action. The reason that the owner of this land was not arrested was because he is a major UNP supporter,� more..

May 7 (FT) Easter Sunday carnage has left the country in a dilemma leaving all of us in a state of anxiety with a feeling of general insecurity. The events have shaken the peace loving world and brought our country to a virtual dead stop. Focus of attention on all relevant aspects of the issue by every peace loving citizen is imperative at this moment. Notwithstanding the prevailing State of Emergency, public should not slack the responsibility of expressing observations and more..

May 7 (FT) Solicitor General Dappula de Livera has been appointed as the new Attorney General by the Constitutional Council today. The CC considering a recommendation by Prez Sirisena has appointed the President�s Counsel De Livera to the post. Mr De Livera who has a career span of 36 years in the AG�s Department had served as a State Counsel, Senior State Counsel, Deputy Solicitor General, more..

May 7 (DM) The Mahanayake Theras of four chapters said in a joint statement today that people should refrain from conducting mega Vesak celebrations that involved large public gatherings owing to the security situation prevalent in the country. Instead, they requested people to focus more on religious programmes aimed at spiritual development. The statement had been signed by Mahanayakes Most Ven. Thibbatuwave Sri Siththartha Sumangala Thera of Malwatta more..

May 7 (DN) The behaviour of some of our present day MPs leaves a lot to be desired. Therefore, the party leaders have a huge responsibility in selecting suitable and qualified candidates to be MPs, said Speaker Karu Jayasuriya. He stated this addressing the launching ceremony of the Galumuwadora Sita Diyawannawata (Galle Face to Diyawannawa) book authored by former Parliamentary General Secretary Nihal Seneviratne. This is the Sinhala translation of the A Clerk Reminisces of Seneviratne. more..

May 7 (AD) A set of clothing similar to the uniform of the Sri Lanka Army has been found in a garbage pile behind the main bus stand in Hatton. Employees of the Hatton-Dickoya Municipal Council had discovered the clothing set inside an abandoned polythene bag and had informed authorities on the matter. The pair of trousers and the cap similar to Army uniforms found in this manner have been taken into the custody of security forces. more..

May 7 (AD) The Leader of the Opposition Mahinda Rajapaksa met with the representatives of associations linked to the tourism industry, at his official residence in Wijerama Mawatha, yesterday. The meeting was held to obtain an insight into the issues faced by the industry for the MPs who will be participating in the adjournment debate at the parliament today and tomorrow. The representatives of the associations told the Opposition Leader that a large number of families who had made more..

May 7 (Island) The govt had not done enough to ensure human security of those living in the country, Acting Executive Director of Centre for Human Rights - Surangika Ariyawansha said. She said that although two weeks had passed since the suicide attacks, things had not returned to normal. Ariyawansha said that although the govt declared that schools would reopen yesterday, the attendance at most schools hovered around the 5% mark. It showed that Sri Lankans were more..

May 7 (PMD) President maithripala Sirisena emphasized that the faith of the people of a whole nation cannot be put at stake due to terrorist acts of few extremists. He said that it is the responsibility of everybody to view the actions taken by the security forces to destroy the wretched terrorism with understanding and trust as these are aimed at ending the period in which people look at each other with suspicion and fear. more..

May 7 (AJ) In Sri Lanka, thousands of military and police personnel have been deployed to track down those behind the Easter Sunday bombings in the country. The government has banned two groups it says have links with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS). But some people say they had warned about the risk of violence before the attacks, and not enough was done. Al Jazeera's Minelle Fernandez reports from Kattankudy, Eastern Sri Lanka. more..

May 7 (DM) Issuing a set of guidelines to be followed during the Ramadan month, All Ceylon Jamiyathul Ulema (ACJU) instructed the mosques to control the volume of their loudspeakers to ensure that the sound would not affect others outside of it. In a statement, the ACJU said the loudspeakers should be directed invert of the mosque premises when conducting sermons and special night prayers. �During the Zuhr salat, the sound volume of radios in houses should be controlled to make sure more..

May 7 (SLA) Defence Secretary General (Retd) Shantha Kottegoda and tri-service Chiefs in a common appeal assures that security measures have been intensified and all necessary steps have been kept in place to ensure full security to all the people. Security Forces are the one and only group who can reinforce the security in the country and people should not fall prey to rumours & false information being spread by more..

May 7 (DN) Former Defence Secreary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa whose passport was impounded in connection with the D. A. Rajapaksa Museum case was today permitted to travel Singapore for a medical check-up by Permanent High Court-at-Bar. Trial-at-bar bench comprising High Court Judges Sampath Abeykoon (President), Sampath Wijeratne and Champa Janaki Rajaratne allowed Gotabhaya Rajapaksa to travel Singapore between May 15 and May 19. The Court made this order following more..

May 7 (Island) World renowned Danish wind turbine manufacturer, who is renowned for maintaining EU Standards is in the process of building the first large scale wind farm in Mannar, but experts say it has now decided to go for Chinese equipment. The Danish industrialist who did not want to be identified by name however told The Island that Vestas would not tarnish their image. "We usually go for Danish or European standard products and I wonder why we opted for Chinese equipment," more..

May 7 (DM) JVP urged the need for the President and the PM to shed all political differences -at least temporarily-and work in tandem to find a lasting solution to the extremist terrorism in the country. JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake told Parliament that the Govt had not been able to ensure national security in the country even two weeks after the terror attack. He said the terror attack could not be prevented as a result of more..

May 7 (CT) UPFA MP S.B. Dissanayake said that attention has been drawn to bringing a No-Confidence Motion (NCM) against Minister Rishad Bathiudeen. He opined that this Motion will include several allegations such as; having connections with the persons related to the Easter Sunday attacks, providing political protection to extremists and providing facilities for Fethullah Terrorist Org to conduct meetings and providing more than 25,000 kg of copper to a Muslim businessman. more..

May 7 (DM) President Maithripala Sirisena had urged the Diplomatic community to take steps to lift travel advisories imposed on their countrymen from visiting Sri Lanka. He made the request at a meeting with the Diplomatic Community held today at the Presidential Secretariat. He reiterated that the security situation in the country had come back to normal, and assured that within the next few days the threat of terrorism would be completely wiped out. He also said that more..

May 7 (PMD) President Maithripala Sirisena briefed the diplomatic community about the progress of the operations carried out by the security forces to curb Islam terrorist activities and the steps taken by the govt to bring back normalcy in the country speedily. He thanked the international community for the cooperation and assistance provided to SL at this time of need. Addressing all the Ambassadors and High Commissioners more..

May 8 (CT) Among the most positive developments, worthy of admiration, in the aftermath of this despicable tragedy, are the level of maturity of our people, timely interventions by the authorities to maintain peace, as well as the exemplary leadership provided by Rev. Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith. They contributed significantly towards averting a major bloodbath as well as maintaining law and order. However, what is most disconcerting has been the sensationalism by some sections of Media, more..

May 8 (CT) According to HRW there are some 1600 asylum seekers in Sri Lanka and they need the urgent protection of the Sri Lankan government as committed to the UN when they were accepted as refugees. They include Afghans, Iranians and Pakistanis. While most are Ahmadiyyas, there are even some Christians. I have tasted sumptuous meals prepared by them when they were working as cooks for a Christian Workers� Fellowship lunch. One did his theology degree here and more..

May 8 (CT) Health services of Sri Lanka is poised to mark a special milestone in their efforts to end the spread of HIV/AIDS, as the country is to receive World Health Organisation (WHO) validation as a country which has eliminated mother-to-child transmission of HIV and Syphilis. Health Ministry and its National STD/AIDS Control Programme � SL may have a long way to go in terms of sweeping AIDS out of the country, more..

May 8 (SO) Sri Lanka - the resplendent isle- had been known by many names down the years where a multi-ethnic community lived peacefully for many decades without any tragedy or catastrophe. But then we have had to face one of the most dreadful terrorist attacks in the world. Even today we shudder to think of the horrific moments when we had to live through an ethnic conflict, insurrections, riots, suicide bombings and assassinations for nearly three decades. more..

May 8 (CT) We celebrated May Day on 1 May, the international day of solidarity and unity of the working class, in its fight against exploitation and oppression by the imperialist-led capitalist class, although this had been marred by the shock of the severe onslaught of Jihadist terrorism on Easter Sunday and its tragic outcome, destroying 10 years of hard won peace. The Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) extended warm May Day greetings and best wishes to the working people here & abroad, more..

May 8 (CT) Health Ministry is apparently involved in many tender benders over the purchase of vital equipment for the Ministry. Ceylon Today delves into some of these tender benders. Govt Radiological Technologists Association (GRTA) has written to the Minister Rajitha Senaratne and appealed to him to reconsider a tender awarded to purchase a MRI machine for the District General Hospital, Hambantota. more..

May 8 (DN) The root cause of the massive disasters caused on Easter Sunday points to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi who has owned up to instigating the killing of innocent people in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday. He is supposed to have frequented and studied in two universities. One could attend a couple of universities, as has done, and yet be defectively educated, cultivated wrong values and follow them fanatically and create anarchy and social chaos through criminal violence. more..

May 8 (SO) The Easter Sunday bomb blasts that transformed the country�s social landscape occurred a fortnight ago. It is only now that its full impact is being felt. In a space of thirty minutes between 8.45 and 9.15 on Easter Sunday morning, SL metamorphosed from being a vibrant, peaceful nation, albeit with all its challenges, to a paralysed country gripped in the throes of a fear psychosis. There is a sense of d�j� vu about all this. Sri Lankans have known what it is like to be more..

May 8 (Island) Ministry of Power and Energy (MP&E) on 05.11.2018 announced a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the establishment of an offshore Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) and pipeline infrastructure for the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for CEB with the closing date given as 12.12.2018. The RFP document, in its title described the bid as a counter proposal under Swiss Challenge procedure. Ambassador of South Korea, in mid-2017, handed over to Prez more..

May 8 (CT) SL National Football Team will take wing for a month-long tour of Qatar and Laos leading up to the World Cup Qualifiers on 6 June in Macau and also with the idea of participating at the South Asian Games (SAG) in Dec 2019. A squad comprising of 31 players will fly out to Qatar on 12 May to participate in the training sessions and engaging in practice sessions for two or three weeks. From Qatar a squad of 23 will travel to Laos to play two friendly matches against Laos National Team more..

May 8 (FT) The Supreme Court recently issued several direction to six ministries, their secretaries and two Govt authorities to take immediate effective measures to ensure the design and construction of all parts of new buildings, facilities and services the public needs to use � as defined in Clause 10 of the Accessibility Regulations No. 1 of 2006 � must be made easy and safe to access and use equally by all persons, in particular more..

May 8 (Island) Royal College Colombo through out its rich history has dominated number of sports in the schools� sport arena and their prowess especially in rugby and cricket is well known. However, the contribution of Royal College towards the national game is mostly unheard or unspoken. But it is interesting to note that, over the years Royal had produced some outstanding junior and senior national volleyball players as well as volleyball administrators of high caliber. more..

May 8 (Island) Who guards the guards? This is the question Juvenal asked, centuries ago. Similarly, one may ask who should judge the judges. Opinion may be divided, but no one, in his or her proper senses, will ever want that task left to politicians. Western Province (WP) Governor Azath Salley has apparently taken upon himself the task of judging judges. He has already judged some judges guilty of having links to Islamic extremist groups. One of them has even abused his position to more..

May 8 (FT) Govt yesterday made public four specific measures, which effectively translate to billions of rupees in support, to boost the travel and tourism industry battered by the Easter Sunday extremist terror attacks. As requested by the industry, Central Bank will direct banks not to seek capital and interest repayment of loans taken by all registered travel and tourism businesses for one year, i.e. till 31 Mar 2020. more..

May 8 (CB) Ashan Priyanjan has been named the captain of the SL 'A' team for the 2 four-day and the 5 one-day games during the tour of India. Niroshan Dickwella, Akila Dananjaya and Lakshan Sandakan, who weren't part of the preliminary SL squad for the World Cup, are part of both the 'A' teams for the India tour that will get under way from May 21. Apart from Dickwella, Dananjaya and Sandakan, the 15-member squad for the four-day matches has six more players who have earned Test caps. more..

May 8 (AFP) Australia will play back-to-back pink-ball Tests against Pakistan and NZ in a marathon international cricket season spanning almost five months and wrapping up next March, the latest finish since the 1970s. Brisbane's Gabba hosts the first of two Tests against Pakistan from Nov 21, followed by a day-nighter at Adelaide Oval. Australia then face New Zealand at Perth Stadium for the second day-night match before the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne and finally Sydney. more..

May 8 (DN) A high level Sri Lankan Ministerial delegation headed by Minister Malik Samarawickrama, undertook an official visit to Oman together with a team of officials from the statutory agencies coming under the purview of the respective Ministries for meetings with the Omani counterparts on May 5 and 6. The team also included Ministers Kabir Hashim and Rishad Bathiudeen. The visit was a follow up to the Dr. Mohammed Al Rumhy, more..

May 8 (FT) All religious leaders, youth organisations and civil society should unite to build peace and formulate new policies to prevent conflicts from taking place in the future, said Anglican Bishop Rev. Dhiloraj Canagasabey yesterday. Rev. Canagasabey expressed his ideas on the Easter Sunday attacks and explained how to move on while preventing ethnic conflicts in the future. He stressed the importance of the unity of all religious leaders, youth leaders and, citizens in formulating more..

May 8 (EN) Sri Lanka will allow duty free import of security scanners and metal detectors to be used at hotels, schools or other companies, State Minister Eran Wickramaratne said. "We will be allowing duty free imports of x-rays, vehicle scanners and hand-held metal detectors," he told reporters on Tuesday. "This is not only for tourism but for all sector who will need it. The HS codes will be announced today," he said. "If there is a need for addtional equipment we will include them." more..