Apr 10 (CT) The repeated announcement by the government that the Parliament would be dissolved if the proposed 19th amendment to the Constitution would not be passed brings to my mind a situation that prevailed in Australia when the Menzies government failed in its attempt to get the Communist Party Dissolution Bill passed. Though there was all round support for proscribing the Communist Party including even among sections of the Labour Party (ALP), it was the High Court more..

Apr 10 (PRN) Transfast, a leading global money transfer company, announced it is now offering instant bank deposits into accounts at Commercial Bank in Sri Lanka, 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, including bank holidays. With the addition of Commercial Bank to Transfast's proprietary network, senders and their beneficiaries can enjoy an innovative service that enables beneficiaries to receive money into their bank accounts instantly. At the same time, senders can take advantage more..

Apr 10 (FT) No matter how much time you have wasted in the past, you still have an entire tomorrow – the thought of the week is written on the green notice board at the Rehabilitation Commissioner General’s Head Office at Nawala. The officials of this office have been able to seal off the past of over 12,000 former fighters of the LTTE who had wasted their time in the past and rehabilitate them to be peaceful souls more..

Apr 10 (Island) Finally, the govt was alleged to have deprived civilians in the conflict zone from receiving necessary humanitarian aid. This allegation is based on the fact that there was a significant shortage of food and medicine available despite deliveries that were made to the conflict zones. *Desmond de Silva on the **permissible parameters of collateral damage* *Desmond de Silva QC is a prominent Queen’s Counsel in England who was appointed by UN Secretary General more..

Apr 10 (CT) The Colombo Stock Exchange has increased its fees for continuous listings with effect from April 6, 2015. The annual listing fees which was Rs. 50,000 for listed companies to remain listed has been increased to Rs 100,000 and the increase has been made after six years.This change has been made in accordance with Section 11 of the Colombo Stock Exchange listing rules. The fees set out in this Section do not include the Value Added Tax (VAT) or any other taxes that more..

Apr 10 (FT) Business for Peace Foundation this week announced the selection of Dilmah Founder Merrill J. Fernando as one of the 2015 Oslo Business for Peace Honourees by the Award Committee of Nobel Laureates in Peace and Economics. The foundation annually names honourees for the Oslo Business for Peace Award in recognition of business persons who, through their own actions and commitments, more..

Apr 10 (DM) It appears that the Customs Department has plenty of free time on its hands during the normal operating hours, bringing to question rationality of Minister Ravi Karunanayake implementing a 24/7 clearance service at the Customs. “The Customs is happy because even though we have signed trade agreements with India and Pakistan, still we are not busy because the export sector has not pushed to the expected level,” Customs Chief Jagath Wijeweera said. more..

Apr 10 (Island) Cinnamon red Colombo, part of the dynamic Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts chain, won the 'Best New Hotel of the Year' award in the 'Mid-Market' segment at the 11th Hotel Investment Conference - South Asia (HICSA) 2015, held on the 7th and 8th April 2015, in New Delhi, India. The prestigious annual HICSA 'Hotel of the Year' awards were instituted to honour and recognise the most outstanding hotel developments in the region for the past year. more..

Apr 10 (ST) Statistics provided by the Central Bank on overall poverty and the poverty levels of elders are not reliable as there are differences and therefore these computations have to be reviewed. This was pointed out by Suminda Singappuli, Director, National Secretariat for Elders. He stressed the need to establish a comprehensive pension scheme encompassing the entire aged population of Sri Lanka above 65 years. more..

Apr 10 (FT) TNS Lanka’s latest nationwide survey, for business magazine LMD, has found that two-thirds of respondents believe the Interim Government has already met some of its pledges, while about 20% say they have placed their trust in the 100-day program, which comes to a close soon. On the other hand, LMD reports that “18% of those polled are of the view that Government assurances are unlikely to be kept…, mainly citing already broken promises.” more..

Apr 10 (Island) Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne said that action had been taken to improve the healthcare facilities in hospitals run by provincial councils as well as those run by the Line Ministry under the 100-Day Programme. Dr Senaratne made the revelation during an inspection tour of hospitals in the Kalutara district recently. Minister Senaratne pointed out that he had laid the foundation stone to construct a well-equipped eye care ward at the Nagoda hospital and another foundation stone had been laid to more..

Apr 10 (Island) University of Sri J'pura will pump in 5 billion rupees to set up a separate faculty, named Engineering and Technology, with a special focus on kidney disease, environment and water. Also, Sri J'pura University is the only University with a Medical Faculty close to the Maharagama Cancer Hospital, thus, would be in a position to take up the challenge and work closely with the Maharagama Cancer Hospital. more..

Apr 10 (Island) Sri Lanka Association Central Japan (SLACJ) in Nagoya, in close co-ordination with the embassy of Sri Lanka in Japan, celebrated the Sinhala Tamil New Year on April 5 in Nagoya in the presence of a large number of Sri Lankans domiciled in the prefectures of Aichi,Gifu and Mieas well as Japanese and foreign nationals. The Charge d’ Affaires of the embassy, Dr. Saj Mendis, graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. In the opening remarks of the president of the SLACJ more..

Apr 10 (CG) The United States and China today expressed condolences over the passing away of the Most Venerable Udugama Sri Buddharakkitha Thero, the Chief Prelate of the Asigiriya Chapter. YI Yanliang, the Chinese Ambassador in Sri Lanka said that the Most Ven. Buddharakkitha Thero, made great contribution not only to the spreading of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and world at large, but also to the exchanges of Buddhists between China and Sri Lanka. more..

Apr 10 (CT) DNA MP Tiran Alles told the media that Minister Champika Ranawaka was behind the recent conspiracy to bring allegations against him. Alles made this statement to the media immediately after making a statement to the Police Special Investigations Unit in response to a complaint against him lodged by the JHU's Nishantha Warnasinghe. "I held a press conference the day before yesterday. more..

Apr 10 (Island) His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith and Rt. Rev. Dt. Valence Mendis yesterday issued the following statement on behalf of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference in Sri Lanka on the demise of the Most Venerable Udugama Sri Buddharakkitha thero, Mahanayake of the Asgiriya Chapter: "The Venerable prelate has rendered a great service to the nation by his committed leadership in matters of national importancve. We also appreciate deeply the contribution more..

Apr 10 (ST) Milinda Moragoda, Founder of the Pathfinder Foundation, recently met with Yohei Sasakawa, Chairman of the Nippon/Sasakawa Foundation, at its Tokyo headquarters to discuss collaboration opportunities between the two organisations. The Nippon Foundation is the largest private foundation in Japan, the foundation said in a media statement. Japan’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Nobuhito Hobo was also present at the discussion, Sasakawa joined the Nippon Foundation as more..

Apr 10 (FT) Govt described rumours that the $ 1.5 billion sovereign bond issue was facing a snag as utterly false and emphasised that it hadn’t gone to the market yet but would do so at the appropriate time. A rumour doing the rounds in the financial and political circles has been that the Govt was unable to issue the $ 1.5 billion international sovereign bond to be quoted on the Singapore Stock Exchange since more..

Apr 10 (TS) THE Kek Lok Si Temple in Air Itam, Penang, will soon receive two Buddha relics from Sri Lanka. The bone relics were acquired from the Rangiri Ulpata Rajamaha Viharaya temple at the Trincomalee district in Sri Lanka via an arrangement by the World Buddhist Sangha Council. Former Kek Lok Si Temple abbot Datuk Seri Seck Jit Heng said he would be leading a delegation to Sri Lanka to receive the sacred relics on April 21. “We expect to return to the Penang International Airport more..

Apr 10 (CT) South Eastern University of Sri Lanka (SEUSL) will soon have a Faculty of Nursing authorized to award degrees and diplomas to cater to the needs of educated young women of the South Eastern region, Vice Chancellor Dr. Mohamed Ismail said. A high-profile discussion on launching the Faculty of Nursing was held in association with Ministers Rauff Hakeem, Hasan Ali, MP Faizal Cassim, Deputy Director General (Education, Training and Research) of Ministry of Health more..

Apr 10 (Island) The UNP should explain the absence of PM Ranil Wickremesinghe and Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake in parliament when a vote on a resolution under the Local Treasury Bills Ordinance seeking the approval of the House to raise Treasury Bills limit by Rs 400 bn was taken up on Tuesday, Fisheries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said. The resolution received 31 votes in favour and 52 against. more..

Apr 10 (CT) Northern Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran decided to distribute land abutting the Sithamparapuram welfare centre to the centre's refugees following a protest staged by them yesterday. The landless problem of the Sithamparapuram welfare centre was brought to the notice of Chief Minister Wigneswaran by Health Minister Sathyalingam. The Chief Minister in a letter to the Sithambarapuram Welfare Society President, Panchalingam stated that more..

Apr 10 (DN) The Health and Indigenous Medicine Ministry will introduce a special red label on bottled drinks which have an excessive sugar content. Manufacturers and importers should display a red label if the sugar content of the drink is over 11 grams per 100 millilitres. All locally produced and imported bottled drinks such as soft drinks, fruit drinks etc should display the red label when the sugar content exceeds 11 grams in 100 millilitres. Rule will be introduced by the ministry soon. more..

Apr 10 (DN) Minister Mangala Samaraweera told Parliament a full report on the alleged arms deal conducted with Ukranian rebels by former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Russia Udayanga Weeratunga will be presented to the House shortly. The minister replying to the special statement made by JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake on alleged arms deals by former SL Ambassador to Russia Udayanga Weeratunga, more..

Apr 10 (DM) Following an advert featuring a semi nude man which created a furor on Facebook causing the advert to be removed shortly after it was uploaded, officials of the Lakpahana office said yesterday that they were unaware of how the advert got there. “We don’t know what happened. We are inquiring into this matter at present, that’s all I can say for now” The marketing manager of Lakpahana said. When Daily Mirror inquired as to how it was uploaded sans approval from the authorities, more..

Apr 10 (Island) The Opposition urged govt not to remove the Mahindodaya tag from the nameboards of the technology laboratories built by the Mahinda Rajapaksa govt at schools countrywide. SLFP General Secretary Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said the laboratories built by the previous govt were now being opened by the Education Minister. Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam had ordered that Mahindodaya tag be removed from the nameboard of laboratory a school in Kurunegala District more..

Apr 10 (Island) Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa announced in Parliament yesterday that the Supreme Court had determined that two clauses of the Bill titled 19th Amendment to the Constitution needed the approval of the people at a referendum and the rest thereof required a two-thirds majority for its passage. When the House commenced sitting Speaker said: "I wish to announce to the House that I have received the determination of the SC more..

Apr 10 (DM) In this historical new era of a new political culture and good governance, a historic consensus and compromise was reached yesterday in relation to the controversial 19th Amendment to the Constitution. A major split in the new govt headed by President Maithripala Sirisena and PM Ranil Wickremesinghe had erupted last month after the draft 19th Amendment was tabled in Parliament. One of the govt’s influential coalition partners the JHU came out strongly against more..

Apr 10 (DM) Conflicts and negotiations between employee and employer are not new. In these negotiations some consensus is often achieved regarding benefits for the employees, who are represented by trade unions with employers represented by their organizations. “A labour movement, as distinct from peasant uprisings, riots and other spontaneous forms of protest, arise with the growth of capitalism and wage-labour relationships” Kumari Jayawardena (1972), more..

Apr 10 (SL) UNP Members seem to believe that the government has delivered most of the promises made in the 100 Day Programme with utmost commitment and dedication, whereas people question as to what is being delivered in reality. The 100 Day Programme was introduced in the election manifesto of President Maithripala Sirisena to introduce social and economic reforms with the vision to put an end to the more..

Apr 10 (GDI) Sri Lanka and Bhutan signed a MoU today following bilateral discussions between President Maithripala Sirisena and the Prime Minister of Bhutan Lyonchhen Tshering Tobgay, who is currently on a three -day state visit to Sri Lanka at the Presidential Secretariat. The President's of Sri Lanka and Bhutan presided over the signing ceremony of the MoU between the two countries. more..

Apr 10 (DM) The govt, for the first time after its formation, was in for a rude shock in Parliament on Tuesday when its resolution to raise Rs. 400 billion by issuing Treasury Bills in the local financial market was voted out by the opposition. At the previous Business Committee Meeting of Parliament, the govt representatives; particularly Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Ajith P. Perera, sought support of opposition representatives more..

Apr 10 (Island) Undergraduates claimed that the new govt, too, had started suppression of student leaders like the previous govt. Convener of the Inter University Students’ Federation (IUSF) Najith Indika told a media conference that Mahapola payments of students had been cut down by the new govt to Rs. 2,500 from Rs. 4,000, despite having promised to increase it to Rs. 5,000 in the run-up to the presidential election in January. more..

Apr 10 (Island) Third report of the Committee on Public Enterprises of Parliament revealed that the Paddy Marketing Board had not taken action to recover Rs 507,596,775 due from eight govt institutions in 2014. The report tabled in parliament by chairman of the Committee D.E.W. Gunasekera said the board suffered a net loss of Rs 711.5 million from the export of 22,950 MT of rice to United Arab Emirates. more..

Apr 10 (CPJ) A freelance journalist for a Tamil-language daily in Sri Lanka has been charged in connection with a story he wrote that criticized the police, according to news reports and the paper's editor, who spoke to the Committee to Protect Journalists. N. Logathayalan, a freelancer for Uthayan, was detained on Wednesday in connection with a story he wrote for the paper that alleged a girl had been assaulted by police in the Nelliyadi more..

Apr 10 (DM) Despite Indian Premier Narendra Modi’s pledge to grant on arrival Indian Visas to Sri Lankan tourists from April 14, confusion reigns over the matter with doubts if it would be implemented from that date. Colombo’s Indian High Commission First Secretary Gaurav Ahluwalia said they were yet to receive a response on this matter. “I have spoken to my colleagues and I am yet to receive a response. more..

Apr 10 (ST) Beware of errant traders who could trick you this Avurudu season, is the warning from the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) to the public. CAA’s Information Director Chandrika Thilakaratne said as the shopping spree increased some of the commonest tricks used by traders to dupe customers included altering weighing scales and repacking items that had already outlived their shelf life. more..

Apr 10 (CG) Sri Lanka – El Salvador relations have been further strengthened with Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Cuba, Sarath Dissanayake presenting his Letter of Credence to President of El Salvador, Salvador Sánchez Cerén, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Ambassador Dissanayake was among 5 Envoys, Ambassadors from Austria, Finland, Norway and Denmark who presented their Letters of more..

Apr 10 (AD) Financial Crimes Investigations Division is currently recording a statement from former Uva Province Chief Minister, Shasheendra Rajapaksa, over the misuse of two luxury buses belonging to the Foreign Ministry. Two super luxury coaches that were recently left abandoned at the External Affairs Ministry car park were reportedly used by several prominent politicians during the former govt for personal more..