June 6 (CT) Police threw out a dragnet yesterday to nab last Wednesday's kidnapper of a nine-year-old school girl in Meegahathanne, Pelawatte. Police believe the kidnapper to be connected to the child's family, who, according to early reports based on disclosures from the child, had concealed her at a hideout in a thickly wooded area of the Kosketiya Kale, which is where Police found the abandoned girl. Police added that the suspect had meanwhile fled the area by diving into Palawatte Wewa more..

June 6 (Island) Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, said that the govt was waiting for President Maithripala Sirisena to call early parliamentary elections after having dissolved Parliament in accordance with his election manifesto. "We haven’t forgotten that the government was meant for 100 days," he said, accusing a section of the SLFP and UPFA constituents of causing an unnecessary scene. more..

June 6 (FT) A new two-roomed house was built and gifted to H.R. Prasanna his wife A.R.M. Indika and five children of Maddumagedara Watta, Wawwa in the Devinuwara electorate by the welfare societies of the Matara Prison. Commissioner General of Prisons Rohana Pushpakumara together with the Superintendents of the Prison made a collective decision on 4 May to cut out unnecessary expenses and build 32 houses for the most deserving families in each district. more..

June 6 (CG) Refugees from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar said they were heading for New Zealand when they ended up shipwrecked on an Indonesian reef earlier this week and have now appealed to New Zealand for assistance. In a letter seen by Radio New Zealand, the refugees make a collective plea to the Govt for asylum, saying it was unsafe for them to return home. Radio New Zealand has made attempts to verify the letter, which bears the signatures of 65 people. more..

June 6 (DM) Southern Provincial Council Minister D.V.Upul in an interview has denied saying that officers of the Financial Crime Investigation Division would be stoned and killed under a govt of former president Rajapaksa. Q: What made you to say that officials of the FCID and others would be stoned to death? A: Where did I say so? These are allegations made against me by the govt fallacious news papers and TV channels. more..

June 6 (Island) Counselor for Cooperation and Cultural Affairs embassy of France in Sri Lanka and the Maldives Michel Treutenaere told the press last week that the French Spring Festival this year would take in a wider spectrum of activities of cultural importance. The festival will be held at various venues, including The Galle Face Hotel, BMICH, National Art Gallery, the National Film Corporation, Lionel Wendt Gallery, Lanka Institute of Fashion Technology and Deana School of Dancing. more..

June 6 (Island) Kurunegala Mayor Anuradha Gamini (UPFA) has identified the attackers, who smashed the windows of his house and damaged his car in the early hours of yesterday and ran off when he came out. According to the Mayor they were engaged in prostitution and abortion rackets in the area. Police had not been able to arrest any of them until last night. Gamini said, "I heard the sound of glass breaking around 12.30 am. My wife saw the suspects smashing some windows of more..

June 6 (DN) Bribery Commission Director General Dilrukshi Dias Wickramasinghe said she was sold out by the Commission's Chairman, Justice Jagath Balapatabendi, when he met the Speaker over an inquiry on former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. She also admitted that there was a heated argument between the commissioners of the Bribery Commission over this matter during a meeting on April 22, more..

June 6 (EN) Sri Lanka's tourist arrivals rose 26% from a year earlier to 113,529 in May 2015, driven by blistering growth from China and India, data from the state tourist promotion agency showed. In the five months to May, arrivals rose 14.5% to 714.584. South Asian visitors rose 28% to 33,141 with Indian arrivals up 38.2% to 31,764. In the five months to May Indian visitors were up 26.8% to 119,593. Visitors from Maldives were up 11 percent to 6,705, from Bangladesh up 17.9% to 1,013. more..

June 6 (NS) “We’re not saying that we don’t have MSG in our noodles, in fact, we do and we acknowledge that on the labeling,” Dr. Bandula Egodage, Vice President of Corporate Affairs & Communication of Nestlé Lanka said adding that it was one of Nestlé’s core policy to ensure that labels remain explicit. “We’ve done our tests, we have our own lab reports and we even went to the extent of having it tested at independent laboratory, it is based on this evidence that we assure more..

June 6 (Island) President Maithripala Sirisena is expected to call a special Cabinet meeting next Monday to push for a consensus on the 20 Amendment to the Constitution between the UNP and his own party, the SLFP. Opposition expected President to finalise agreement on electoral reforms ahead of next parliamentary sittings on June 9, Opposition Leader Nimal Siripala de Silva said. "We are confident that President can secure more..

June 6 (DM) Yesterday was World Environment Day and in its afterglow or aftermath – depending on what our attitudes and actions are collectively or individually – we could reflect today on the vital issue of fuel usage which is connected not only with the environment but also the economy. On a worldwide scale, Calls are growing for a fair price for fuel as the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) ministers meet in Vienna to review production levels. more..

June 6 (DM) With the draft of the 20th amendment to be submitted in Parliament soon, it was revealed that Sri Lanka was ranked the lowest in South Asia with less than 6 percent of women representatives in Parliament. Seeing that there is an opportunity for some high level changes to increase the number of women representatives in political parties a system known as the combined method was proposed, Dr. Ashoka Abeygunawardena one of the drafters of 20th amendment said at a media briefing more..

June 6 (DM) UNP suffers from an inferiority complex of recent origin: a possible backlash after successive defeats that caused a mental trauma; now it’s on the mend. The party needlessly feared to field a candidate at a presidential election, curiously at the point of peaking, forfeiting the moment of glory, as the northern/eastern vote floated into reckoning - unlike at a general election. Behind it all was a germ called funkchitis more..

June 6 (DBS) Cannes is a city on the picturesque French Riviera-Mediterranean coast in South-Eastern France. It is classified as a French commune which is an administrative division roughly equivalent to a municipality. The pride of Cannes in contemporary times has been the annual international film festival held in the city. Known as the Cannes Film Festival in English, it is regarded as the most prestigious film festival in the world. more..

June 6 (ST) The gas cylinder explosion that claimed three lives in a Maradana eatery this week has raised concerns over mistakes and carelessness in the use and storage of LP gas in kitchens, both commercial and domestic. Investigations have revealed that the cafe, close to the Elphinstone theatre, had several gas cylinders stacked in its small kitchen in contravention of safety rules that stipulate no more than 25kg of gas more..

June 6 (SL) Chief Minister of the WPC Prasanna Ranatunga are harassing and causing inconvenience to the residents of Perera Mawatha by building a house down that lane, alleges Ranjeevi de Silva, a resident of the area in question. She also claims that Chief Minister has illegally occupied the reservation land that was at the end of the road adjacent to the Chief Minister’s property. She further alleges that they had been more..

June 6 (DN) The SLFP has never entered into an MoU with the UNP to form a national govt, said Opposition Leader Nimal Siripala de Silva referring to claims by Minister Sajith Premadasa that such an MoU exists. De Silva said Minister Premadasa had claimed that an MoU had been reached by the UNP and SLFP for a national government and no one could prevent Ranil Wickremesinghe from becoming the PM. more..

June 6 (GDI) Opening the island’s first International Arbitrary Centre in Colombo, PM Ranil Wickremasinghe has said that Sri Lanka’s legal network should be upgraded in conformity to international standards. The Centre has been established in a manner that it could supply professional legal services in international trade agreement of any country or in international trade agreements. more..

June 6 (FT) Minister of Foreign Employment Thalatha Atukorale, concluded her official visit to Malaysia recently. The Minister held bilateral discussions with her Malaysian counterpart YB Dato Sri Richard Riot Anak Jaem on 26 May and met the Executive Council of Malaysian Foreign Agents (PAPA), Board Members of the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) and agents and employers who recruit Sri Lankan workers. more..

June 6 (DM) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) interim committee which is reeling under one mighty financial blow they received on Wednesday when they learnt that the bid for the forthcoming three test matches against India could only bring them US $ 1.4 million, have committed further financial hara-kiri by opting to offer their local TV rights for the next three years to the state owned Sri Lanka Rupavahini (SLRC) at a rate of at least more..

June 6 (Island) The Ministry of Resettlement, Reconstruction and Hindu Religious Affairs (RRHA), said it was facing the challenge of providing durable solutions to internally displaced persons to ensure their safety and protection after resettlement. Spokesman for the RRHRA said the Ministry had endeavoured to outline the tremendous task they had ahead of them to prospective donors at the meeting held on Thursday. more..

June 6 (FP) Sri Lanka’s transfer of power in early January came as a surprise to many, although the lasting effects of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s electoral defeat are far from clear. Newly elected President Maithripala Sirisena promised to implement bold, ambitious reforms. The new govt is off to a decent start, although Sri Lanka’s political situation is likely to remain precarious until Sirisena dissolves parliament more..

June 6 (CT) Yesterday one of our columnists quoting Law and Order Ministry Secretary T.M.K.B. Tennakoon said that 790 road deaths had been reported in the first four months of this year. The number injured however, has not been reported. Padraig Colman, in an article published under the heading 'Getting death off our roads' in this newspaper said that in the 30-year period from 1977 to 2007, 40,000 road deaths and 370,000 road related injuries were reported. more..

June 6 (CT) On the 9th of January 2015, the people of Sri Lanka astounded themselves and many others in the world. An authoritarian ruling family cabal which had ruthlessly stripped the country’s democratic institutions and systems of their basic integrity and legitimacy, subordinated the highest Court in the land and unforgivably repressed and alienated Sri Lanka’s minorities, lost political power. Former president Rajapaksa and the members of his family were forced to hurriedly pack up their more..

June 6 (SL) Despite the difficulties the general public face when they use the public transport, they continue to travel by them as they hardly have any other choice. Issues related to transport are not new – people have been suffering for many years due to inefficiency and irregularity of the public transport system and lack of will of the transport authorities to solve them. The mere sight of overcrowded buses and trains where more..

June 6 (Island) A doctor attached to the Balapitiya hospital whose car overturned after veering off the Southern Expressway between Godagama and Kottawa on Thursday is out of danger. Dr. I.U.K. Mudalige’s car had veered off the road and toppled over at the 27.9 km post around 4.40 p.m. The Police said it had been raining heavily at the time of the mishap and the doctor had lost control of the car. The doctor had been initially rushed to the Nagoda Hospital in the pouring rain. more..

June 6 (DN) All drugs issued by the state health sector in the future will be of high quality and uniform prices, Health and Indigenous Medicine Ministry sources said. Health and Indigenous Medicine Ministry directly purchases medical drugs from local manufacturers on a five year buy back guarantee, to help promote the local pharmaceutical industry. "Ministry purchased 56 different medical (drugs) and surgical items in popular demand from 13 local manufacturers. more..

June 6 (ST) Hundreds of people gather at markets believing that they are getting good value in buying food items at cheaper rates but in reality are purchasing outdated and illegally imported goods, public health officials warned this week. Some of the popular brands are sold at half the original market price. In the most recent raid, carried out on Wednesday in Borella, Public Health Inspectors (PHI) found imported chocolates more..

June 6 (EAF) Chinese investment in Sri Lanka is causing major problems for Sri Lanka’s President Mathripala Sirisena and has become a point of tension in Sri Lanka–China relations. Before taking office, Sirisena had promised that he would look into alleged corruption, stating he would investigate how Sri Lanka is ‘being obtained by foreigners by paying ransom to a handful of persons’. His election manifesto simultaneously acknowledged Sri Lanka’s economic difficulties. more..

June 6 (DN) Five Police OICs had been transferred with effect from yesterday under the instructions of Police Chief on service requirements, the Police said today. Accordingly, Embilipitiya Headquarters Police Inspector R. Witharana had been transferred to Mount Lavinia Division, Kuttigala OIC J. Dias to Embilipitiya and Police Inspector W. Alahakoon from Police Field Headquarters to Kuttigala. Meanwhile, Katana Acting OIC T. Senaratne and Sigiriya Acting OIC W. Ratnayake had been more..

June 6 (EN) Sri Lanka's forex reserves dropped to US dollars to US$ 6,850 million in May 2015 from US$ 7,454 million in April. The forex reserves are the lowest since March 2015, when total reserves fell to US$ 6,835 million. In April forex reserves recovered, partly helped by a 400 million US dollars swap with the Reserve Bank of India. Under a central bank swap, the RBI gives dollars to the Central Bank and receives rupees. more..

June 6 (Island) Supreme Court on Monday will take up a motion filed by the Attorney General seeking a clarification on the scope of the interim order issued by it last month preventing the arrest of former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa by the controversial FCID of the police. The order was issued when a Fundamental Rights petition was filed with the Supreme Court citing an attempt to apprehend him. The court issued the order pending the final conclusion of the FR application. more..

June 6 (Island) GMOA accused the Health Ministry of delaying the appointment of around 340 post-interns who had already completed their internships a few weeks ago. GMOA Assistant Secretary Dr. Navin de Soysa, addressing the media, said the normal procedure was to recruit another batch of interns when one batch completed internship. But, so far the ministry had neither given appointments to the post-interns nor enrolled a new batch for internship training, the GMOA said. more..

June 6 (GDI) President Maithripala Sirisena has said that during his tenure in office he will not permit any politician, businessmen or any person to destroy the environment. He asserted that he rejects such persons immaterial of their political affiliations. Addressing the national ceremony marking World Environment Day, the President said that such persons would not receive his blessings. more..

June 6 (Island) Installation of Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) on 1615 multi-day fishing craft would be completed by the end of this year to have the ban imposed by the EU on Lankan fish exports lifted, Minister Mahinda Aamaraweera said. He said that the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Department was in the process of installing the VMS system on 1615 multiday fishing boats free of charge. "VMS has already been installed on about 150 boats and the rest will be installed before more..

June 6 (AD) A team of police officers including the OIC of the Wellawaya Police Station have been attacked during a raid to arrest a suspect selling liquor without a permit, police said. Wellawaya Polcie OIC Vijitha Perera and another Police Constable have reportedly been admitted to the Wellawaya Hospital with injuries following the incident. The suspect had attacked the OIC with a bottle of liquor before attempting to use a sharp object to attack the other officers. more..

June 6 (DN) Unlike the previous regime, the present govt under the leadership of Maithripala Sirisena will not intervene with the activities of the Supreme Court, PM Ranil Wickremesinghe said. "Supreme Court is no more under the control of the govt," he said. "We got out of the control of the Supreme Court, since we have freed the Supreme Court from the grip that Rajapaksa govt had. The present govt never controls more..

June 6 (CT) The number of reported dengue cases has significantly increased in and around Colombo due to the incessant rains prevailing over the past few weeks, the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) said yesterday. The number of reported dengue cases has increased upto 1,300 this year with two reported deaths. According to Chief Medical Officer of the CMC, Dr. Ruwan Wijeymuni, over 3,500 houses were inspected with the assistance of CMC officials, the Health Ministry, more..

June 6 (GDI) Embassy of Sri Lanka in France & Permanent Delegation of Sri Lanka to UNESCO in collaboration with the National Commission of Sri Lanka to UNESCO convened a three day symposium to celebrate Vesak, a day of International Observance at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris from 27th-29th May, 2015. This year’s symposium Fostering Peace through Cultural Education focused on interfaith dialogue & education as effective tools to build peace more..