Apr 6 (Island) The best manifestation of Sri Lankan progressivism these days is limited to the occasions of memorial lectures and birth centenary commemorations of the leaders of the old Left Parties who dominated the island’s politics during the middle two quarters of the twentieth century. There have been two centenary celebrations so far this year, first for Doric de Souza and more recently for Bernard Soysa. We must also add to the list the birth centenary of the UNP stalwart, more..

Apr 6 (ST) UNP’s one time deputy leader Sajith Premadasa was in a buoyant mood when the party’s Working Committee met last Thursday. Perhaps he had good reason to be in that mood. He had performed well for his party during last week’s Southern Provincial Council elections. During the polls campaign, Mr. Premadasa told the Committee, he had received a directive from the leadership. He was asked not to involve in more..

Apr 6 (Island) After securing a resolution against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC in Geneva last month, pro-LTTE Tamil organizations in the UK are vigorously campaigning for the imposition of a ‘travel ban’ on Sri Lankan MPs. Sunday Island reliably learns that the ultimate goal of these pro-LTTE Tamils is to push for a ‘travel ban’, ‘trade ban’ and freeze assets of Sri Lankan MPs. However, their short term target is to stop President more..

Apr 6 (PTI) The NFF, a key ally of President Rajapaksa expressed doubts over India's motives in abstaining at the UNHRC vote against Sri Lanka. "We have to closely examine why India abstained," Mohamed Muzammil, NFF spokesman told reporters. "India not only voted in favour of the resolution in 2012 and 2013, they played a leading role in getting votes in favour of the US resolutions each year," he stressed. more..

Apr 6 (Island) The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has been given the green light to directly procure oncology drugs as the continuing tug-of-war between some importers has led to a critical dearth of certain life-saving pharmaceutical products, a senior health administrative official said. "With the go-ahead, we have developed a new methodology to purchase all the vital cancer-related drugs required for patients under treatment" more..

Apr 6 (SL) While complaints have been made that female tourists are unsafe in Tangalle, SL Tourism Development Authority insisted that Southern town is safe for female tourists. Recently SL published an article with interviews with women who had been allegedly sexually harassed and abused at a notorious beach front restaurant in Tangalle. “We strongly deny that such a situation prevails in Tangalle. more..

Apr 6 (SL) Rajarata University students are to seek the support of lecturers of all the universities in Sri Lanka to help them find a solution to their problems. Convener of the Inter University Students Unions said that the union will seek the support of lecturers of all the universities in the country within the next week by making them aware of the injustice done to the Rajarata university students. more..

Apr 6 (NDTV) The ICC World Twenty20 final has inspired Google to feature the World T20 doodle on the day of the final. The doodle is comprised of a number of colours such as blue, yellow, red and green. It shows a bowler coming in to bowl, an image of the crowd cheering, a batsman playing a pull shot, wickets being disturbed by a delivery, a bowler appealing and a hand holding a ball. It sums up all the ingredients of a final of a more..

Apr 6 (ST) Percentage of expensive thermal power generated by CEB is rising daily as the Govt sticks to its “electricity at any cost” policy despite drought in hydro-catchment areas. On Friday, a massive 88.4% of the country’s energy requirement was met with thermal power, statistics show. Only 11.3% of hydroelectricity was generated. This is an increase from a week ago when 84% of power was generated by thermal power stations while more..

Apr 6 (CT) The govt has taken steps to handover all operations of the Norochcholai Coal Power Plant (NCPP) to China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) for three years, a CEB source said. The Cabinet paper regarding the handing over of the power plant to the Chinese received Cabinet approval on 27 March. An engineer attached to the power plant, who did not wish to disclose his name said, although more..

Apr 6 (ST) Intelligence authorities used information extracted from sheaves of Tamil Tiger documents recovered from the battlefield in Mullaitivu to compile a 39-page list of designated persons, groups and entities “suspected of financing terrorism”, a senior official said. He said that while the listing of these groups and individuals could not currently be treated as a prohibition, the Govt had the option of banning or proscribing them more..

Apr 6 (CT) An event organized by a Tamil group in Canada a few days ago, with the participation of popular South Indian actress Trisha Krishnan, has come under criticism and according to informed sources the organizers have even been threatened by another Tamil organization for maintaining links with the Rajapaksa Govt through EPDP Leader and Minister Douglas Devananda. It was last week the govt proscribed 16 Tamil organizations including the Transnational Govet of Tamil Eelam (TGTE), more..

Apr 6 (CT) The mass proscription of Tamil Diaspora organisations has been followed by the blacklisting of 424 Tamils of Lankan origin as ‘Tigers’. Unsurprisingly Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP, the hand-picked successor of V Pirapaharan and the man once described as an ‘Interpol wanted terrorist’ by the Defence Ministry website is not on the terrorist-list. The Rajapaksas are on a new rampage, which is likely to push Sri Lanka into the biggest quagmire of her conflict-ridden history. more..

Apr 6 (Island) In an unprecedented development, the process now underway to elect a member to fill an existing vacancy in the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) has hit rough weather with Health Minister, Maithripala Sirisena calling for the cancellation of nominations saying "moves are afoot to regulate a transparent election procedure". Minister has officially intimated to Prof. Carlo Fonseka, the president of this apex body of more..

Apr 6 (Island) Bangladesh says there was tremendous scope for cooperation with Sri Lanka in all sectors including culture given their common approaches to peace and development and special bond of friendship between the two peoples. High Commissioner Sufiur Rahman, speaking at the first ever Bangladeshi food festival to be held in Sri Lanka which commenced at the Taj Samudra Hotel on Wednesday, said that the two countries were pursuing "increasing engagement and exploring newer vistas more..

Apr 6 (DM) President Mahinda Rajapaksa is reported to have pulled up Irrigation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva at Thursday’s Cabinet meeting over a statement made by him to the media saying that mega development projects would not suffice to win votes. It is learnt that the President expressed his anger over such remarks by a senior member of the Cabinet and said that Mr. de Silva should not have made such remarks. However, Mr. de Silva had said his remarks had been misinterpreted.

Apr 6 (Island) Minister of External Affairs G.L. Peiris met with a group of academics, economists, media and members of civil society recently where issues arising from the Resolution on Sri Lanka at the 25th Session of the UNHRC in Geneva were discussed. The Minister highlighted the need to inform the public on the implications of the resolution in view of attempts in some quarters to whip up hysteria regarding possible repercussions. more..

Apr 6 (SL) With water levels in reservoirs depleting rapidly 12810 MWh of power is being generated through coal powered electricity generation which is 32.97% of the Cumulative Dispatch as of last Thursday. As at last Friday the water levels of Castlereigh were recorded at 6.9%, Maussakelle 16%, Kotmale 25.5%, Victoria 20.4%, Randenigala 57% and Samanalawewa 20.7%. CEB Spokesman Senajith Dassanayake said that while water levels in the reservoirs were dwindling, more..

Apr 6 (CT) A bird expert has rediscovered the illusive Bluethroat after more than 50 years. Ornithologist, Tharanga Herath, had come across the lone bird on 13 March, at the Bundala National Park. Herath told Ceylon Today, the bird was spotted around 4:00 p.m. and the last recorded sighting of the bird was in 1955. "This migrant bird was spotted in 1955, at Boralesgamuwa. The Bluethroat migrant has at least two sub species and the bird spotted by me was a Summer plumage male," more..

Apr 6 (CI) Winning world events is an ugly business. Even aspiring to win is. Ask Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara. Before tonight they had reached finals four times, wanting to win, ending up with bigger heartbreaks. On a night that these two champion players finally got that monkey off their backs - in their last Twenty20 international match - another champion player played a poignant, cagey innings that cost his side the final. more..

Apr 6 (CI) Last-ball run-outs in the first innings of limited-overs games hardly register, but this one had significance for India. They were just about managing to scrape together singles at that stage, so when Virat Kohli squeezed Malinga's yorker off the last ball of the India innings, they went for a what-the-hell-let's-chance-it second run. But the direct hit from Sachithra Senanayake at deep square-leg caught Kohli short by a few inches, and ended India's innings on 130 for 4 more..

Apr 6 (CI) Apart from the opportunity to see the world's best, the World T20 has also provided Bangladesh's youth a dose of international exposure. Nearly 500 volunteers have been at work during this tournament, many of them from the country's top colleges and universities. The first ones you will interact with are at the gates, helping out with every bit of information as you enter. Then there are volunteers inside the galleries and various seating areas. more..

Apr 6 (CI) Sangakkara and Mahela were overwhelmed to be able to sign off their T20 careers with a long-awaited trophy after overcoming India in the World T20 final. Sangakkara played the decisive hand in the final with an unbeaten 52 off 35 balls, his first significant contribution of the tournament after four previous innings had brought just 19 runs, and he was delighted to have been able to repay his team-mates while also ending Sri Lanka's time as more..

Apr 6 (CI) There is no doubt who the best women's T20 side in the world are. Australia overwhelmed England to secure a hat-trick of World T20 titles, cruising to a six-wicket victory. They were miserly in the field, restricting England to 105 for 8, then quickly put themselves ahead of the rate in the chase which was fittingly led by Meg Lanning with a powerful 44 as she became the leading run-scorer at the event. The key difference was summed up in the sixes count: more..

Apr 6 (DM) UNP National Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said his party would now press the government to hold a presidential or a general election next year. He said that the govt was originally planning to hold a presidential election by February 2015 but had given up the idea following the recently concluded PC elections. Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected UNP members of the Western and Southern Provincial Council elections at the party headquarters Sirikotha, more..

Apr 6 (AFP) Sri Lanka fans at home burst firecrackers and danced on the streets as the national team won the World Twenty20 title beating India by six wickets in Dhaka on Sunday. Instant celebrations broke out at cricket grounds and public parks in the capital Colombo as well as in suburban towns where thousands of fans watched the game on giant television screens. President Rajapakse telephoned the Sri Lankan team in Dhaka to congratulate them for more..

Apr 6 (ICC) In their last T20 match for Sri Lanka, the prolific duo of Sangakkara and Mahela secured their nation its first-ever ICC World T20 title over a dejected India. But it was Sri Lanka’s bowlers who were the architects of the victory. It is often assumed that T20 is a batsman’s game. But Nuwan Kulasekara and Lasith Malinga proved how influential, shrewd and precise bowling can be, allowing India just 15 runs from the last three overs. First Yuvraj Singh, then MS Dhoni more..

Apr 6 (CG) President Rajapaksa is to boost ties with Bahrain during a visit to the Kingdom later this month. The Bahrain Prime Minister’s Court’s President, Shaikh Hussam bin Isa Al Khalifa, today received the Ambassador of the Republic of Sri Lanka to the Kingdom of Bahrain, Anwar Rajakaruna, and discussed the scheduled visit of the President of Sri Lanka to Bahrain on 28-30 April 2014. The Premier’s Court’s President expressed optimism of the visit that will further strengthen more..

Apr 6 (ICC) The bridesmaid finally had her time under the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium lights, graduating from second best, as Sri Lanka ended a long sequence of losses in the final of ICC events. Having lost four finals in the last seven years, Sri Lanka finally broke the jinx in some style in the final of the ICC World Twenty20 2014, overwhelming hitherto unbeaten India by six wickets. The scenes of unrestrained joy with the entire team tumbling more..

Apr 6 (CG) The National Plan of Action (NPOA) on implementing the recommendations of the LLRC, says journalists facing harassment or threats can lodge complaints online via the Sri Lanka Press Council website. In the list of NPOA recommendations already implemented, the Govt says that among steps taken to assure media freedom in Sri Lanka is the provision of the opportunity for media personnel to lodge any complaint immediately via an online complaint system at www.slpc.lk launched by more..

Apr 6 (ST) A millionaire businesswoman accused of conspiracy to murder a former police officer has been granted bail by the Colombo High Court. Businesswoman, Himali Karunaratne from Sir Ernest de Silva Mawatha (former Flower Road), Colombo 7, is charged with conspiracy to murder former police officer Rohan Kumarasinghe with whom she is alleged have had an affair. Ms. Karunaratne has allegedly conspired with five others to have Kumarasinghe murdered on or about July 21, 2013. more..

Apr 6 (CI) After a slow start, India had recovered to 93 for 2 in 14 overs, and with an in-form Virat Kohli looking good, they were set for a final flourish. That flourish never arrived as Yuvraj Singh struggled to a painful 21-ball 11, starving Kohli of the strike. It resulted in only 19 runs coming off the final four overs. "I think in the middle overs," MS Dhoni said when asked when the game slipped away. "Our batsmen tried their best to get going but more..

Apr 6 (ST) The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and the Securities and Exchange Commission are launching a joint road show in association with the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in London next month, the CSE said. The Business Times reported this event last November in an interview with Ibukun Adebayo, Co-Head Emerging Markets, Primary Markets – LSE. He was quoted as saying, “This (road show) is similar to the one we had in 2010 in London. The feedback has been quite good. more..

Apr 6 (SM) UN human rights inspectors should not be permitted into the country, says Prof. Nalin de Silva, noting that allowing them access will give legitimacy to the reports they would be preparing in advance. The visit by UNHRC chief Navi Pillai did not make any changes to her report and what the country should do is to go forward according to a national policy without falling into machinations by western forces, he says. 'Silumina’ also quotes him as saying no internal or more..

Apr 7 (SL) “UK To Maintain Push”, “Time Frame For Probe Likely’, “New Draft Gets Tough” – these are some of the headlines that scream out the deceptive outcome of those Draft Resolutions of the UN, UNHRC and their deliberate intent to pressure our victorious leaders and armies into kow-towing to the threats of UN bodies. After a terror war protracted for over 30 years by a group of maniacs – the fear, horror, destruction and sufferings Sri Lanka underwent, the only option of our more..

Apr 7 (SL) TO pass judgement on Sri Lanka’s performance in last week’s Hong Kong World Series Rugby Sevens solely on a count of wins achieved would be grossly unfair. Sri Lanka’s win-record was zero, conceding all of their five games, and so deserving of a poor rating. But Marija’s men were by no means booed out of the stadium. For a team whose presence in a gathering of the world’s best was on invitation and not, unlike all of the other teams, on merit of qualification, more..

Apr 7 (SO) Plans are afoot to create awareness among villagers about new development projects that are to be implemented at Divisional Secretariat level. Officers of the Divisional Secretariat Division will carry out awareness programs. Govt officers will also provide the necessary assistance, Senior Minister Athauda Seneviratne said. The rural or village community is the backbone of a country's economy. more..

Apr 7 (CT) Five years after the international community, the co-chairs to the peace process, and the UN failed to stop Sri Lanka’s 2009 genocide, Tamils appear to finally be upon a new beginning in the decades long struggle for justice. US sponsored resolution passed an intense session of the UNHRC last week. The motion carried and supposedly sets up an international investigation into wartime abuses. The fact that some Tamil activists lobbied for this resolution at the UNHRC more..

Apr 7 (CT) Gamani Corea, by any comparison, Sri Lanka’s most respected economist of international renown, embarked on a noble mission when he assumed the post of Secretary General of UNCTAD – United Nations Conference on Trade and Development – in 1973. That was to uplift the conditions of hundreds of poor countries in the world which had been mercilessly hit by markets by depressing the prices of primary commodities they had been supplying to the rest of the world. more..