Jun 25 (AD) The surcharge of Rs. 26.00 imposed on diesel and petrol has been revoked with effect from midnight on June 23, says Power, Energy and Transport Minister Mahinda Amaraweera. Sri Lanka will not increase the fuel prices despite the price hikes in the global market, the Minister said. Following the revocation of surcharge on fuel, the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation will incur a loss of over Rs. 35.00 per petrol litre and nearly Rs. 25.00 per diesel litre, he added. more..

Jun 25 (HRW) The SL authorities should stop targeting, intimidating, and harassing journalist and woman human rights defender, Dharisha Bastians, and her family. The Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Front Line Defenders condemn this assault on human rights and press freedom in Sri Lanka and call on the Sri Lanka Police to more..

Jun 25 (CT) NFF Leader Wimal Weerawansa yesterday, alleged that SJB National List aspirant Harin Fernando is attempting to reduce the number of votes that fellow SJB candidate Dr. Kavinda Jayawardena could garner at the upcoming General Election. Weerawansa further alleged that Fernando�s recent statement against Archbishop of Colombo, His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith was made to defeat Jayawardena by distracting Catholic SJB supporters in Gampaha District. more..

Jun 25 (CT) The Court of Appeal, yesterday, enlarged on bail, former Negombo Deputy Mayor Royce Fernando who had been in remand from March 2019 on charges that he had abducted a well-known businessman who had been dining at a hotel in Negombo with his Chinese girlfriend and also robbing Rs 5 million and a vehicle. The Court ordered that he be released in two sureties of Rs 500,000 each and ordered him to report to the Negombo Police every Sunday. more..

Jun 25 (TM) The expert committee, which was appointed by the Cabinet of Ministers to review the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) agreement, handed over its final report to the President Rajapaksa today at the Presidential Secretariat. The final report was handed over to PM Mahinda Rajapaksa by the Committee at Temple Trees last evening (24). The PM is expected to table the final report at the next Cabinet meeting. more..

Jun 25 (AD) A forty-three-year-old defendant from Maradana charged for the possession of 14.76 grams of heroin and racketeering was sentenced to death by the Colombo High Court today. The defendant had been arrested in Maradana on Nov 10, 2012 by officers of the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) with 14.76 grams of heroin. Attorney General had later filed indictments against the accused for the possession and racketeering of heroin. Delivering the verdict at the end of a long more..

Jun 25 (EN) Central Bank has listed measures taken to ease cash pressure on the banking system during the Coronavirus crisis, and tens of billions of rupees printed for the Treasury to fill the budget deficit after taxes were cut earlier in the year. SL ran into forex shortages as money was printed and the CB said it had given a billion US dollars from its reserves to settle foreign loans up to now. The CB came under fire from Prez Rajapaksa for not printing another 100 billion rupees to give credit through more..

Jun 25 (AD) Hemas Holdings announced the appointment of Kasturi Chellaraja Wilson as Group CEO, effective 1st October 2020, succeeding Steven Enderby. As part of a planned succession, Kasturi will take on the role of Deputy CEO and be appointed to the Board of Hemas Holdings PLC, effective 1st July 2020. Husein Esufally, Chairman, Hemas Holdings announced, �The Board decided to appoint Kasturi as more..

Jun 25 (CT) A number of leading distillers cry foul that there is a drastic drop in the quality of arrack being issued to the market at present, as a result of the decision to stop ethanol imports with effect from 1 January. At present, local ethanol is being used to manufacture arrack and distillers claim that this ethanol lacks good distilling standards, therefore, the arrack being distilled also lacks �any standard�. Arrack distilled using local ethanol carries traces of sulphur that causes vomiting, headaches, more..

Jun 25 (Island) Department of Wildlife (DWL) has relaxed rules and regulations due to political interference at the Yala National Park, environmentalists complain. They are expected to take up the matter with Prez Rajapaksa. DWL has done away with restrictions on vehicles entering the park. Dept officials, contacted for comment, expressed concern. Naturalists, claiming that DWL was unprepared for the early reopening of the park, said, however, the restrictions would have more..

Jun 25 (CT) Former Secretary to the National Police Commission, Saman Dissanayake, said his arrest over facilitating the maintenance of the Avant Garde floating armoury at the Galle Harbour has been politically influenced and that it has infringed his fundamental rights. Testifying yesterday before the PCoI appointed to probe incidents of Political Victimisation of Public Servants, he said that the CID had accepted more..

Jun 25 (Island) The Young Lawyers Association accused the govt of using various Presidential Commissions to undermine the law of the land. The association, affiliated to Frontline Socialist Party (FSP), alleged that the govt continued with the despicable operation at the expense of the judiciary. A group of lawyers addressing the media, maintained that the setting up of Presidential Commissions jeopardized the rights of the people. On behalf of the Young Lawyers more..

Jun 25 (Island) Leader of the National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) Zahran Hashim had openly used firearms to intimidate Sufi Muslims and imparted weapon training to some Kattankudi youth even in 2009, PCoI on Easter Sunday attacks was informed yesterday. Sunday Times journalist, Chris Kamalendran, who had interviewed Zahran, in 2009, on fighting between traditional Muslims and Wahhabists, told the commission that he had visited Kattankudi in August 2009. more..

Jun 25 (AD) The govt hopes to bring the country back to pre- COVID 19 situation with the presentation of the first budget of the SLPP govt in the new Parliament, Minister Bandula Gunawardana said today. The govt has provided a massive relief package in the aftermath of the COVID-19 endemic to the corporate and public sector as well as to the most vulnerable groups in the country who have lost their daily income. more..

Jun 26 (CT) The COVID-19 pandemic created an immense humanitarian crisis that severely affected almost all countries in the world. Due to the health security measures taken by the govts, it forced organizations and individuals to adopt new practices such as social distancing and working from home. As a result, more and more people began to carry out their daily transactions, purchases, office administration & even for education digitally & thus became very vulnerable for cyber-attacks. more..

Jun 26 (CT) To many minds the razzmatazz kicked up all over the country by politicians and religious leaders over former MP Harin Fernando�s jibes at Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith has proved somewhat sensational purely because he allegedly made disparaging allegations of the Cardinal getting tied up in politics. That created confusion more prominent in the political domain with effects spilling over into clerical streams. What however is relevant in this issue is that Cardinal Ranjith, more..

Jun 26 (CT) In 1995, Sri Lanka was identified as the country with the world�s highest suicide rate � that year, for every 100,000 population, 45 people took their own lives. Faced with such alarming statistics, the Sri Lankan govt at the time appointed a Presidential Task Force on Suicide Prevention in 1997. With many recommendations given by the task force � including decriminalising suicides by amending the Penal Code, more..

Jun 26 (CT) Pride 2020 is markedly different from previous years. Apart from the obvious reality that we are unable to organise pride events and social gatherings, the pandemic situation has impacted pride, and SOGIESC rights advocacy in general, in a number of very specific ways. Firstly, the pandemic has clearly demonstrated how the most marginalised and least represented segments of the LGBTQIA+ community are on very thin ice � especially on the financial front. more..

Jun 26 (CT) Before I conclude this series, I should record clearly the way the Human Rights mechanisms in Geneva work. This is the more vital because there seems to be some confusion about it, and resentment of everyone and everything after the unfair attacks on us. But we must learn to distinguish, to work carefully, to affirm our own sovereignty while also making it clear that we subscribe to international laws and practices � not because we want to please others but more..

Jun 26 (TM) The human-wildlife conflict in Sri Lanka has been stuck at an uncomfortable crescendo for quite some time now, without any real solution being drawn up. In the name of progress, habitats have been encroached on and the numerous wild animals have been displaced. Yet, wildlife are the ones, when they attempt to survive these foreign invasions, framed as the villains. Some time back, there was an uproar more..

Jun 26 (DM) The average citizen of this country is often found guilty of some offence because of not knowing the law. At the present moment Public Health Inspectors (PHIs) are encountering problems because the powers delegated to them by the Ministry of Health are not legalised under the Quarantine Act. But there are citizens who are aware of the law, and the amendments to them. In an educated community like this there might arise a situation where we might see citizens more..

Jun 26 (DM) In an era with advanced communication technology and the alert media, politicians are required to carefully calculate in advance the possible ramifications of what they should say before the people, be it in urban areas or in the remotest corners of the country. Public remarks, made without proper calculations of their pros and cons, weighed heavily on two politicians this week. One is LTTE commander-turned-ruling party politician Vinayagamurthy Muralitharan more..

Jun 26 (Island) Two weeks ago we had The Island cartoonist Jeffrey having ex-Prez Sirisena moving stealthily forwards with a sack thrown over his shoulder. He was on a Santa gifting mode proceeding to his father�s adopted home and therefore his, and come Aug 2020 his electorate. So he was going to address voters if not en masse at least in small groups to tell them what benefits, perks and blessings he had brought them as the President in 2015-19 of Sri Lanka. more..

Jun 26 (Island) Scientists are reported to have launched a global study on changes in animal behaviour owing to the great Anthropause (the unprecedented slowdown in human activity during the Covid-19 crisis). Animals enjoyed unbridled freedom for weeks during lockdowns so much so that they even strayed into concrete jungles. On seeing the hapless beings confined to little boxes aka apartments and peeping through windows, the animals that happened to enter crippled cities more..

Jun 26 (FT) SL has scored well in the latest global assessment of startup ecosystems, largely for having strong Govt support and tech companies with skilled and affordable talent. Key findings and insights to future potential are highlighted in the 2020 Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) by Startup Genome and the Global Entrepreneurship Network launched yesterday at The Ecosystems Couch Conference. more..

Jun 26 (Island) It is a fair statement for this observer from outside the pearl to make, that the forthcoming general election is going to have only one conclusion. The G-man is going to ensure that his brothers and their cahoots get in. It is not going to be very difficult as the opposition is in total disarray with the old fogies refusing to concede to young blood. Here I mean not any young blood but even to specific, carefully chosen young blood. ANY young blood consists of the Premadasa pretender more..

Jun 26 (FT) Bank of Ceylon is raising Rs. 5 billion with a first-of-its-kind bond issue that is BASEL III compliant, perpetual with a non-viability write down. The BOC Board recently resolved to issue 30 million BASEL III compliant, unlisted, unsecured, subordinated, perpetual, additional Tier 1 capital bonds worth Rs. 100 each with a non-viability write down. It has an option to issue a further two million of the said bonds in the event of an oversubscription of the initial issue. more..

Jun 26 (Island) Former great Kumar Sangakkara has nominated former England women�s cricket captain Clare Connor to succeed him as the President of Marylebone Cricket Club. Sangakkara, the current President�s term has been extended till October 2021 after the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic and Connor will take over from him becoming the first woman to head MCC in its 233 year history. more..

Jun 26 (PTI) After asserting that the 2011 World Cup final was sold by certain parties in Sri Lanka to India, the island nation�s former sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage has now called his claim a suspicion that he wants investigated. The Lankan govt has ordered an enquiry into the matter and a special Police investigation unit recorded Aluthgamage�s statement on Wednesday. He told the team that he was only suspicious of fixing. �I want my suspicion investigated,� he said. more..

Jun 26 (ST) Subsequent to soaring prices owing to short supply during a drought and then floods, Sri Lanka has imported a considerable quantity of vegetables, potatoes and big onions during the first quarter this year spending millions of dollars more than the last year, Central Bank data showed. Bad weather conditions hindered all agricultural activity where farmers faced great difficulty as some crops were completely destroyed, leading to an unusual increase in the prices of vegetables. more..

Jun 26 (FT) Fort Magistrate Ranga Dissanayaka said in open court that officers of the CID had attempted to show photographs of Hejaaz Hizbullah at his chambers prior to the recording of statements from two children. When the matter was taken up before Dissanayake on 24 June, he told Hizbullah�s lawyers that prior to the recording of the statements from the two children, this attempt had been made: more..

Jun 26 (TM) In a world where we can be anything, we must be mindful to be kind, and an act of kindness was exactly what The Sunday Morning Brunch came across this week with the news of rehabilitative efforts of a group to rescue injured animals in Hiyare Down South. Wild Animal Rescue Project (WARP) was initiated by the Wildlife Conservation Society Galle (WCSG) in 2008 to address the pressing issues encountered by animal patients in the area. more..

Jun 26 (FT) In an attempt to provide more relief to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Cabinet this week approved a host of measures, including deferring payments of tax arrears as well as suspending injunction orders of banks until next year. The proposal was submitted to Cabinet by PM Mahinda Rajapaksa in his capacity as the Finance Minister. Under the latest provisions if the Commissioner General of Inland Revenue is satisfied that no wilful evasion of tax more..

Jun 26 (EN) Constitutional Council is calling for the National Police Commission�s (NPC) observations on a letter sent to the Commission by the daughter of slain journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge challenging the appointment of the new Director of the CID. Parliamentary office said that former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya as Chairman of the Constitutional Council had brought the attention of the Council to the letter sent by more..

Jun 26 (Island) Ven Athuraliye Ratana Thera, Gampaha district candidate of Ape Jana Bala Pakshya said that the US embassy in Sri Lanka called for the procurement process of the Millenium Challenge Corporation agreement through its website. Ratana Thera questioned whether this was done with the approval of the govt of SL or ignoring the fact that SL was a sovereign nation and it was done arbitrarily by the US authorities. Thera said, the govt should reveal this to the masses. more..

Jun 26 (Island) The terrorist attack on the SL team bus in Lahore more than a decade ago changed the face of the sport and pushed Pakistan into cricketing isolation. Pakistan is one of SL�s friendliest nations and the PCB � Pakistan Cricket Board � is SLC�s � Sri Lanka Cricket, strongest ally. The PCB has done some remarkable work over the years to resume cricket in the country. Tharanga Paranavithana and Malinda Warnapura recalled the memories of horrific scenes that day in the team bus. more..

Jun 26 (CT) Cabinet of Ministers has decided to extend the prevailing exchange and import controls for another six months effective from 2 July, to stabilise the SL rupee, while relaxing inflow regulations as proposed by the Minister of Finance Mahinda Rajapaksa, minister Bandula Gunewardene said. The decision will be confirmed via a formal Govt Gazette Notification. Meanwhile, Govt also plans to revise some regulations more..

Jun 26 (DN) So far, there�s no proof of match-fixing at the 2011 Cricket World Cup final, Sports Minister Dullas Alahapperuma said. He was speaking at a press briefing held in (where?), yesterday. He added, �I asked the Sports Ministry Secretary, SLC, and ICC, and got to know that they have found no proof to support this allegation. Former Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage made this accusation, and I ordered Sports Ministry�s Special Investigative Unit to look into the matter.� more..

Jun 26 (DN) SL Badminton Association (SLBA) will resume their events by forming the Senior National Pool to start training from July 2 onwards at their headquarters at Maitland Place. After a lay off of almost four months, SLBA has been given the go-ahead from the Sports Ministry to resume training for their Senior National pool players. SLBA has called the players concerned for a meeting on Monday (29) at 4 p.m. at their headquarters. At the time of the stoppage due to the Covid-19 in March, more..