May 13 (DM) Aasiya Bibi, a Pakistani Catholic woman who spent almost a decade on death-row over blasphemy allegations in Pakistan, was finally allowed to leave for Canada. According to latest information received, Asia Bibi is now in Canada. Unfortunately her prison cell has a new resident: Yet another Christian woman condemned to death over blasphemy charges. Aasiya Bibi (also known as Aasiya Noreen) a Pakistani Christian woman who was accused & later convicted of blasphemy more..

May 13 (DM) A simple question needs to be addressed on the Easter Sunday Bomb Attack in Sri Lanka. Could our Govt pursue an intelligence based anti-terrorist drive to combat the ISIS linked terrorist groups without the bomb blasts happening? The answer is clearly NO. The local and international Human Rights Groups, Powerful Nations and even the Stakeholders of the bomb blast would have pounced on the Govt with such force that it would have crippled operations. more..

May 13 (DM) A supplementary budget of 190 million rupees for two bulletproof vehicles for the President and the newly-appointed Secretary of the Ministry of Defence has been passed in parliament! One of my neighbours made it a point to approach me during my morning walk to share this news. I certainly could not believe what I was hearing. But then again, this is SL. Rearranging the furniture in a sinking ship has been more..

May 13 (CT) MP and President of the SL National Council (SLNC) Venerable Athuraliye Rathana Thera, said he will definitely bring a No-Confidence Motion (NCM) against Minister Rishad Bathiudeen, in the coming week. Addressing a Media briefing, Ven. Rathana Thera yesterday said many allegations have been levelled against Minister Bathiudeen, but no one questions him or has proved it. more..

May 13 (IT) The army chief of Sri Lanka said that India would be providing Sri Lanka with counter-terrorism technology and capability to fight the growing menace of Islamic terrorism in the country. Speaking to India Today TV, army chief of Sri Lanka Lt Gen Mahesh Senanayake said, "We have requested India for intelligence cooperation, bomb disposal assistance, cyber warfare assistance and assistance of training and equipment." more..

May 13 (ST) Clearance from the State Intelligence Service (SIS) will be required to obtain residence visas for foreigners, the Govt has decided. Accordingly, those applying for residence visas for any category will have to be cleared by the SIS in contrast to the existing system where the line Ministry and the Defence Ministry clear the visas. The move is among a series of measures being introduced by the Immigration Dept to tighten more..

May 13 (FT) Essential food importers and traders have become the latest to seek financial support from the Govt partly due to the impact of the Easter Sunday terror attacks as well as recent sharp devaluation. The Essential Food and Commodities Importers and Traders Association (EFCITA) which styles itself as the sole provider of the food security requirement of Sri Lanka, has made this appeal in a letter to PM Ranil Wickremesinghe. more..

May 13 (AD) Minister Thalatha Atukorale refutes the recent allegations by MP Udaya Gammanpila that the SL courts have been influenced by foreign diplomats. On 7th May, PHU Leader MP MP Udaya Gammanpila claimed, at the parliament, that an official from the Embassy of US for SL has exerted influence on the local judiciary during a workshop held in the US, which was attended by nine senior justices from SL. more..

May 13 (CT) The entire Catholic Hierarchy in Sri Lanka has come under serious threat including the Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith according to State intelligence reports; a senior official within the Archbishop House in Colombo warned He said that the Cardinal and the remaining 14 Bishops throughout the country have been alerted on a threat that has been provided by State intelligence agencies and more..

May 13 (CT) WP Governor Azath Salley claimed that at least fifty, out of every hundred, houses have swords, irrespective of which community the people of the household belong to and that this is a fact that has been accepted by even certain Buddhist leaders. He said, �only the initial discovery of swords in Slave Island was from a Mosque, whilst the remaining discoveries were framed to appear that the swords were more..

May 13 (EN) Sri Lanka's tourism minister said he expected the country's tourism industry to bounce back in as little as three months, with security authorities rapidly closing down a terror network, after holidaymakers avoided the island following co-ordinated bombings on Easter Sunday. "We will bounce back in the next three months," minister John Amaratunga told reporters in Colombo on Friday. more..

May 13 (DM) Govt will not protect any minister or any MP who associates with terror groups, PM Ranil Wickremesinghe said. PM came out with this sentiment at a ceremony held in Elpitiya to distribute lands to the landless on Saturday. �Govt is not willing to protect any minister or an MP if they are associated with terrorist groups. If there are allegations against any Minister or against an MP it should be referred to police. more..

May 13 (CT) On President Sirisena�s directive Ajanthan Kathirgamathambi who was arrested and grilled by the Police sleuths over the killing of two Police Constables at a checkpoint in Vavunathivu in November last year was released on Friday. Ajanthan was a former LTTE cadre and on his surrender to Security Forces he was rehabilitated and integrated with his family. He engaged in the work of a labourer looking after his wife and five children having a hand to mouth existence. more..

May 13 (CT) Sri Lanka is not a Sinhala Buddhist Country. It is the country of Sri Lankans, said Minister of Finance Mangala Samaraweera. �A majority in this country are Sinhala Buddhists. Also, there are Christians, Catholics, Hindus, Muslims and followers of other religions. All of them have the right that we have as Sinhala Buddhists,� he said. He was speaking at a provincial council representatives� meeting held at his office at Nupe in Matara. more..

May 13 (FT) Many have expressed their concern about the rising incidence of educated youth leaving the country for employment in developed countries. This is specifically a relevant issue in a background of SL�s labour force falling as observed by the World Bank in its recently released SL Development Update 2019. On top of this, labour force participation in SL has historically been low with only about a half of the eligible people between the ages of 15 and above offering their services to more..

May 13 (AD) Police curfew has been imposed on Rasnayakapura and Kobeigane police divisions with immediate effect, the Police Media Spokesperson said. The curfew will be in effect until 4 am tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, police curfew has been imposed in Kuliyapitiya, Bingiriya, Dummalasuriya, and Hettipola Police divisions from 2 pm this afternoon until 6 am tomorrow. Police curfew was imposed last night at Kuliyapitiya, Bingiriya, and Dummalasuriya areas owing to more..

May 13 (FT) With Easter Sunday terror attacks impacting tourist traffic, the airlines last week called for reduction or removal of charges slapped on their operations to Sri Lanka, failing which a scaling down was imminent. This concern and suggestions to rectify the precarious situation came up for discussion at the meeting between airlines and travel and tourism industry on Friday chaired by Minister John Amaratunga. more..

May 13 (Island) All Ceylon Jammiyathul Ulama (ACJU) has requested the Defense Ministry, the IGP, and the Police Headquarters to look into the attack on a mosque in Chilaw. The Island learns that ACJU is closely working with the security forces. "We have a team including Moulavi Fazil Farook in this regard. We are confident that the security forces will do the needful in this regard." Following yesterday morning�s attack Police imposed a curfew in the Chilaw area with immediate effect more..

May 13 (AD) The persons who founded, expanded and funded the National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ) will timely be revealed, says Minister of Justice Thalatha Atukorale. Minister stated this yesterday (12) addressing the event held for the inauguration ceremony of the proposed project for carpeting the road from Gabbela to Kalal Ella-Ambalanwatte road in Ratnapura District with Rs 500 million funds. Commenting further Minister Atukorale stated that the incumbent govt assumed power when more..

May 13 (AD) The student turnout has dropped considerably despite reopening primary classes at govt schools today, Ministry of Education has stated. Additional Secretary of ministry Hemantha Premathilaka said, however, the teachers� turnout had shown normalcy. According to principals of schools in the Central Province, the student turnout had been extremely low. In Ambalangoda area low attendance more..

May 13 (Island) The army should not be completely withdrawn from the North as the presence of security forces was important to assure the safety of those living in a unitary state, chairman of Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO,) M.K. Sivajilingam said, yesterday, addressing a media briefing in Trincomalee. He announced that they had decided to cancel the protest march which was to be held in remembrance of Tamil civilians who were killed during the last phase of the war. more..

May 13 (AD) Non-Cabinet Minister of Mass Media and State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardene has been appointed as the acting Minister of Defence until President Maithripala Sirisena returns to the country. President Sirisena left for China today to attend the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations in Beijing, China. The Conference is themed exchanges and mutual learning among Asian civilizations and a community with a shared future. more..

May 13 (EN) Sales of high-prices condominium apartments in Sri Lanka have been slowing down while the cheapest ones continue to remain in demand, central bank said. Sales were still concentrated in the Colombo District with the majority of units sold belonging to single condominium projects. �According to the analysis of the composition of sales transactions, the share of the category of condominiums priced below more..

May 13 (Island) Digital Infrastructure and Information Technology Minister Ajith P. Perera apprised the members of Lankan community in Japan and Japanese business leaders of the current security situation in the country during his recent two day visit to Japan, Lankan Embassy in Tokyo said yesterday. The Embassy said the Minister visited Japan from May 6 to 8 with represenatives of nine Lankan IT companies to promote Sri Lankan IT businesses in Japan. more..

May 13 (TN) The husband of Razeena Kukkady, a Dubai resident who was killed in Sri Lanka�s Easter Sunday bombings last month, said that his life will never be the same again following the tragedy. The National reported last month that Ms Kukkady, 60, had been at breakfast at the five-star Shangri La hotel when two suicide bombers detonated their devices in one of a series of deadly attacks that struck three hotels and three churches in the capital Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa. more..

May 13 (DM) If anyone claims that Sri Lanka is not a country of Sinhala Buddhists, such people should not be in the country, Mahanayake of Kotte Chapter the Most Ven. Ittepane Darmalankara Thera said. �During the history that I know of, no Buddhist or any non-Buddhist had ever said that SL is not a Sinhala Buddhist country,� he said. �Even Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, who is not a Buddhist, said that this is a Sinhala Buddhist country more..

May 13 (DM) Several firearms and ammunition buried in a land at Kuda-Oya in Wellawaya were recovered by the Kuda Oya Police and the army personnel today. Two repeater firearms, two air riffles, two 56-riffles, four shot guns, two 12-bore weapons, 324 rounds of T-56 ammunition, 163 rounds of 12-bore ammunition and 430 12-bore ammunition, 110 rounds of M16 ammunition, 75 ammunition of 9mm, 169 ammunition of 7mm, 2,773 ammunition of REM, three binoculars, more..

May 13 (DP) Out of the 600 foreigners including 200 hardcore maulvis (Muslim religious preachers) deported by Colombo over the last week after the suicide bombings there, over a 100 were Indians. They, along with those from Pakistan and Maldives, were suspected to be engaged in radicalisation in the SL mosques. Besides the Indians, clerics from Pakistan and Maldives have also been deported in large numbers owing to their terror links that emerged after serial suicide bombings more..

May 13 (EN) Losses at Entrust Securities, a primary dealership embroiled in fraud and barred by regulators from carrying out operations since 2017, deepened 43% from a year earlier to 1 billion rupees in the year to end March 2019, as regulators mull liquidating the firm. The company reported a loss of 30.92 rupees a share in the year, interim results filed with the Colombo Stock Exchange showed. Total assets of the firm fell 80% from a year earlier more..

May 13 (NR) MP Field Marshall Sarath Fonseka says he will not accept any Ministerial post apart from the Ministry of Law and Order. Speaking to media today after attending a programme in Kelaniya the MP said the President had rejected a request by the PM to appoint him as the Minister of Law and Order.The Minister noted those who claimed they were not afraid of bombs, travelled overseas early this morning adding the President travels overseas once every two weeks. more..

May 13 (AD) The academic activities of all faculties at the Uni of Sri J'pura except for two faculties will commence tomorrow. Faculty of Management Studies & Commerce will reopen on the 15th of May owing to several examinations that are yet to be held. Acting VC of J'pura Uni Professor Sudantha Liyanage stated that the reopening of the Faculty of Engineering will be announced soon. It was reported that the students� hostels of the university will also reopen starting from tomorrow. more..

May 13 (AD) A team of Senior Muslim Officers serving the SL Army on the instructions of Amy Commander Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake during 8-10 May met a large group of leading Moulavis (Islamic priests), State Administrators, Educational authorities and sections of senior citizens in Trincomalee, Muttur, Kinniya, Batticaloa, Kattankudy and Eravur areas. They highlighted the importance to continue more..

May 13 (DM) Sri Lanka was not a Sinhala Buddhist country but a country belonging to all those who had taken Sri Lanka as their motherland, Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera said yesterday. He said the majority of Sri Lanka, which belongs to Sri Lankans, are Sinhala Buddhists. �There are also people belonging to Christian, Catholic, Hindu, Islamic and other religions in that country. All of them have the same rights which the Sinhala Buddhists have,� he said. more..

May 13 (NR) The further examination of the case filed against State Minister Ranjan Ramanayake over charges of Contempt of Court has been postponed to the 29th of July 2019. The case was taken up for hearing today before High Court Judges Sisira de Abrew, Murdhu Fernando and S Thurairaja. The three member bench decided the case cannot be heard without the presence of High Court Judge Sisira de Abrew who was appointed as the Chairman of a Presidential Commission. more..

May 13 (AFP) Sri Lanka imposed a nationwide night curfew Monday, after anti-Muslim riots spread to at least three districts just north of the capital in a violent new backlash against the Easter suicide bombings. Official sources said the curfew was aimed at preventing a further escalation of violence, but police would not say why it had been extended across the country of 21 million people. Initially, the districts of Puttalam, Kurunegala more..

May 14 (ST) If this column returns to the subject of the dastardly terrorist bombings on Easter Sunday, it is not without cause. The security forces, now acting with extra powers under their belt, continue to scour the country for members and supporters of the jihadi organisation that unleashed the terror killing innocent people. They are also searching for the extremist organisation�s safe houses, weapons caches and its stored and hidden financial assets. While there are daily reports of a range of more..

May 14 (DN) The radicalization of some young Muslims and they�re going astray to extreme militancy caused death in three places of worship and three hotels. What has actually made them go astray is an interpretation of some Quranic texts in a manner that is unacceptable and instigative of immeasurable disaster not only to fellow Muslims and followers of other religions but to mankind itself. People of many nations are not only sympathizing with SL over the tragic loss of so many more..

May 14 (CT) Uva Provincial Council Minister M. Senthil Thondaman has flexed his muscles to thwart an attempt by Iran�s Al-Mustafa University to spearhead a radicalised higher education system in his Province. According to Senthil Thondaman, even the Badulla Branch of the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama has opposed the attempt by the Iranian University, describing it as in contrast to the traditional Islamic philosophy in SL. more..

May 14 (ST) The internationally planned and executed country-wide terrorist attacks and the resultant insecurity in the country would weaken the balance of payments, erode foreign reserves, increase fiscal slippage and slowdown economic growth. The most serious consequence, the deterioration in the balance of payments, would weaken the country�s external finances and increase the nation�s external financial vulnerability. Therefore, international assistance is vital more..