June 9 (DM) Former CJ Shirani Bandaranayake’s son Shaveen Bandaranayake Kariyawasam recently came into The limelight when he made a comment on a Facebook status posted by MP Namal Rajapaksa regarding his mother Shiranthi Rajapaksa being questioned by the FCID. In his comment, Shaveen reminded Namal about the harrowing times that he went through during his own mother’s impeachment. more..

June 9 (ST) The dog population has risen to one animal for every 6.7 humans, and a rise in rabies this year makes it necessary to carry out widespread vaccination and sterilisation, health authorities said. There are about 3 million dogs in the country, a fifth of them without owners, Dr Mizaya Cader, Senior Registrar in Community Medicine said. Another 30% of dogs are free-roaming domestic dogs found in public places more..

June 9 (Island) Sri Lanka Gateway Industries, the Company, which is to develop a Heavy Industrial Zone (HIZ) in the Sampur area, will soon kick off the project with the construction of a multi-million dollar jetty, a senior CEB official said. Gateway is currently engaged in a legal wrangle over land abducted to it. The govt issued a gazette last month to return their land to displaced civilians. A jetty needs to be completed on schedule more..

June 9 (Island) Sri Lankan Railways Technologists Union (SLRTU) General Secretary Kamal Peiris warned that unless the govt granted them a pay hike immediately in accordance with the 2006-6-Circular approved by the Cabinet and the Salaries and Cadre Commission, they would be compelled to launch a strike from Wednesday. Peiris said the SLRTU had held a series of discussions with Internal Transport Minister and more..

June 9 (CT) Leader of the TNA R. Sampanthan has said the election manifesto of the TNA in the forthcoming parliamentary election would reveal the true political aspirations of the Tamil people, what they are fighting for and what they expect. Sampanthan said so when he was addressing a seminar on The current political situation at Trincomalee New Silver Star Hotel on Saturday. more..

June 9 (DM) Former Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris, says the formation of a UPFA govt is the need of the hour rather than dissolving Parliament. Prof. Peiris, an MP loyal to former President Rajapaksa, said govt had mishandled its relations with China in the coduct of its foreign policy. Q: In the current political context, how is the Opposition planning to do its politics? A: The Opposition is very conscious of its responsibility. more..

June 9 (DM) Following the shockingly low bid Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) received from Dubai-based television broadcast company Taj TV for the upcoming tour of India, SLC is in talks with other broadcast companies for a fresh, more lucrative deal. SLC called for tenders for broadcast rights for the three-test series against India and received just one offer from Taj TV – who currently own SL’s broadcast rights for home matches more..

June 9 (Reuters) China's defence minister told the head of the Sri Lankan navy on Tuesday he wanted to ensure a continuous and stable development of military ties, after Sri Lanka ruled out future Chinese submarine visits to the country. Defence Minister Chang Wanquan told Jayantha Perera that China was willing to continue and deepen cooperation with SL, including efforts to train personnel, China's Defence Ministry said. more..

June 9 (CT) Every 90 minutes a woman is raped in Sri Lanka, these statistics are not new and it has been so for quite some time. The pages of this newspaper have highlighted case after case and yet our stories simply add to the statistics. Over the past few weeks, we saw the rape and murder of 17-year-old Vithya Sivaloganathan and subsequent rape cases in the North bring back rape into the limelight of the media. These cases made many men and women pundits on the subject in more..

June 9 (CT) The dilemma faced by President Maitripala Sirisena and the way it is to be resolved will determine the course of future events and the emergence of possible scenarios. This dilemma concentrates the long-simmering, accumulated structural pressures, conflicts and contradictions of the Lankan State and Political Order. It ties them into a knot, demanding effective, radical solutions. The Sirisena Dilemma expresses what appears to be a mortal contest between the forces more..

June 9 (CT) Travelling back to the year 1687, the Centre for Performing Arts (CPArts theatre) took up the challenge to walk in the footsteps of St. Joseph Vaz the barefoot priest who trod the dusty streets of Jaffna in search of Catholics. The play on St. Joseph Vaz went on board on the 9th and 10th May at the Open Air Theatre of CPArts, Main Street, Jaffna. It was a grand performance with excellent acting, more..

June 9 (CT) Colombo Additional Magistrate yesterday allowed FCID to probe all the accounts of former Intelligence Chief, Kapila Hendawitharana who is accused of depositing money in foreign banks.In addition, all accounts of Executive Director of Dan TV, S.N. Kuganathan, who is accused of making money through illegal means with Hendawitharana, will also be probed. FCID commenced investigations on Kuganathan after it was alleged that the Dan TV head has been more..

June 9 (Island) Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry asked pregnant women to be more cautious as they were in the Influenza A high risk group. The number of suspected Influenza A deaths among pregnant women reported since the beginning of the year till date was six. A total of 12 suspected Influenza A deaths had occurred during that period. There was no need to panic but those identified as high risk groups –namely children below two years, pregnant women, adults above 65 and more..

June 9 (DM) Formation of a SLFP govt after the next general election is only dream, UNP Media Spokesman Akila Viraj Kariyawasam said. He said that the UNP has revived itself and garnered the support of the majority Sinhala Buddhist community and as such, the SLFP would have little or no chance of winning the election. The minister said though several attempts had been made in the past to split the UNP, its members unlike more..

June 9 (Island) Vital drugs needed by heart, epilepsy and hypertensive patients, that were out of stock a few days ago will be available soon. Medical Supplies Division (MSD) Director Dr. Kamal Jayasinghe said that enoxiparin was an extremely important drug to dissolve blood clots of heart patients. Due to some import difficulties, there would be a slight delay in issuing it. But, arrangements had been made to replenish drug stocks in hospitals as soon as the consignment arrived. more..

June 9 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's stock index fell for the second straight session on Tuesday to close at its lowest in more than seven weeks, with turnover slumping to a near three-month low as concerns over political uncertainty dented demand for risky assets. President Maithripala Sirisena's govt has said it would dissolve parliament once some crucial reforms including an electoral bill are passed, but has yet to fix a date for the election. The main stock index ended down 0.16% at 7,067.11, more..

June 9 (DM) The BBS organization today alleged that the Central Bank and some other commercial banks were promoting religious banking in Sri Lanka in various ways and that it was not a good trend. “We have received information on the fact that the Central Bank and several commercial banks are engaged in introducing religious banking,” BBS General Secretary Ven. Galagodaatte Gnanasara said. more..

June 9 (EN) Sri Lanka can improve the productivity of its dairy farmers by going for bigger farms to give economies of scale and simple techniques to make cows feel better, according to visiting Dutch experts. Netherlands, also a small country like Sri Lanka, started off with small farms with only few cows but had now grown to become the world’s second largest exporter of agricultural products, said Sara Knijff. “Now we have larger scale of farming and new, very sustainable techniques more..

June 9 (CT) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe could not have come into power twice in his lifetime if not for the support of several members of the SLFP said General Secretary of UPFA Susil Premajayantha. He made this statement at a press conference held yesterday regarding the No- Confidence Motion that was submitted against Wickremesinghe last week. Former Minister Premajayantha stated that the govt was making false claims trying to ruin the credibility of all the other ministers. more..

June 9 (Island) DLF Leader Vasudeva Nanayakkara MP, asked PM Ranil Wickremesinghe to express the UNP’s stance on the 20th Amendment to the Constitution without playing a political ball game. He said that the no-confidence motion against PM Wickramasinghe would not be a barrier to the passage of the 20th Amendment and the Opposition would pass the no-confidence motion and the 20th Amendment at the same time. more..

June 9 (LBO) Australia’s Wellard Rural Exports, a live cattle exporter is in partnership with the National Live Stock Development Board (NLDB) of Sri Lanka to supply dairy cows and build new infrastructure to increase milk production. “In phase one of the development project, Wellard supplied 2000 dairy cows to three farms in Bopathalawa in addition to building farm infrastructure and dairy equipment,” a statement issued by the Australian High Commission said. more..

June 9 (IANS) Indian automobile major Tata Motors on Tuesday launched its two new cars - compact sedan Zest and hatchback Bolt in Sri Lanka. "These two cars, loaded with many segment-leading features, are built to global design and product standards and will appeal equally to the first-time buyers, as well as existing automobile owners looking for a new and exciting product," said Johnny Oommen, head for international business, passenger vehicles, Tata Motors. more..

June 9 (CG) War in Sri Lanka and footage obtained using mobile phones has been used as an example by a leading legal body to create a new mobile phone app enabling civilians in conflict-torn countries to capture and share verifiable footage of war crimes. Mobile phone footage of human rights abuses, mainly shared on social media in recent years, is often fake, impossible to verify or lacking the information more..

June 9 (NS) The National Movement against Poisons today charged that certain govt officials were delaying President Maithripala Sirisena’s order to ban all imports and sale of Glyphosate. Speaking at a media briefing held this evening, Ven. Eppawala Mahamankadawala Piyarathana Thera of the organization questioned whether there were officials who were more powerful than President Maithripala Sirisena and claimed the announced ban was yet to take full effect. more..

June 9 (AM) An inmate of a refugee camp for Sri Lankan Tamils at Tiruvadavur near Madurai in Tamil Nadu has approached the Madras High Court Bench in Madurai, seeking a direction to the State to pay his family a compensation of Indian Rs.10 lakh (1 million) for the death of his 11-year-old daughter when the asbestos sheets laid on the roof of their dilapidated house in the camp caved in on May 12 last year. When the matter came up for admission before Justice R. Mahadevan on Monday, more..

June 9 (AD) The representation of minor political parties with a geographically dispersed voter base will be affected by sticking to 225 MPs and by reducing the number of electorates to 125, CaFFE Executive Director Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon said. Thus 20th Amendment will adversely affect Muslim and Indian origin Tamil parties, and the JVP and the JHU as well, he said. “Cabinet approval of a system that establishes an electoral system more..

June 9 (EN) A proposal by PM Ranil Wickremesinghe to limit the parliament to current 225 members had been accepted by President saving ordinary citizens from a further expanded elected ruling class. Other electoral reform proposals had attempted to increase the legislature to 255 in the guise of helping minorities. New electoral reforms proposed to elect 125 members from constituencies, 75 on a district-wise proportional representation list and 25 from more..

June 9 (GDI) President Sirisena said that we must further develop our education policy with a comprehensive understanding about national and international requirements. “We should promote teaching different languages in schools, which is a principal requirement towards building harmony among communities. At the same time we must promote teaching of technological subjects,” President said. He made these observations during a meeting with officials from more..

June 9 (IL) During the visit of Minister Karu Jayasuriya to Paris in his capacity as Minister of Buddha Sasana, Public Administration, Local Govt and Democratic Governance to attend the Vesak Symposium, he met with Madam Irina Bokova, Director-General/UNESCO for a brief courtesy call on 27th May. Minister of Education Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, who is also the Chairman of SL National Commission to UNESCO more..

June 9 (DM) Doctors in Montenegro said one sailor had died and three more had to be hospitalised after an accident on a Greek ferry near the country's Adriatic coast, Business Standard reported. Doctors at the Meljine General Hospital said one of the sailors remained in life-threatening condition after a suspected poisoning late Friday, apparently by fuel fumes. Police said an investigation was underway but had released no details. The sailors were from Sri Lanka, Egypt and India. more..

June 9 (CT) Jaffna District TNA MP Mavai Senathirajah, of ITAK has revealed a plot by some elements who are distributing dollars among the Tamil community to divide them and to make a change in the current able leadership in the Tamil community. Mavai Senathirajah was speaking at a seminar held by ITAK Trincomalee District branch on Saturday at New Silver Star Hotel. Eastern Province, Education & Resettlement Minister C. Thandayuthapani presided at the event. more..

June 9 (DM) UPFA urged President to increase the number of MPs elected on the First-Past-the-Post system in the proposed 20th Amendment on electoral reforms. This request was made at UPFA parliamentary group meeting in the parliamentary complex today. At a special session on Monday, Cabinet decided to draft the legislation on electoral reforms by Friday. According to the decision taken at the meeting, more..

June 9 (CG) Divisions have arisen over the electoral reforms proposed and approved by the cabinet last night with some minor parties raising concerns. Leader of the National Workers Union and Govt Minister P Digambaram said that the estate community does not agree with the proposals approved by cabinet yesterday. Digambaram said that the 20th Amendment to the constitution, approved by cabinet, does not ensure fair representation for the estate community. more..

June 9 (CG) A US State Department official is to visit Sri Lanka this week to study the state of the media following the January 8 elections. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Eileen O’Connor will have talks in Sri Lanka with Govt officials and the media during her visit. During her visit Eileen O’Connor will also have discussions on the proposed Right to Information Act (RTI). O’Connor has worked as an attorney specializing in legal crisis management more..

June 9 (ENS) The memorial for the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Jaffna has got a second face lift in two years in keeping with the increasing awareness of the sacrifices made by the Indian armed forces in maintaining the unity and integrity of Sri Lanka in the face militant separatism between July 1987 and March 1990. At a solemn ceremony held at the site just outside Jaffna’s Palaly airport, Consul General for India in Jaffna, more..

June 10 (CT) It was with great trepidation that a lot of us émigré Sri Lankans read the story on the horrible abduction, rape and murder of an 18 year old in Jaffna. Rape is a heinous crime by itself. Rape and murder is carried out by vile men and it is not about romance, or love or even having sex for pleasure. It is a violent sadistic crime and it is about savage men exercising violent control over women. In the US it is estimated that 300,000 women face sexual assault or rape attacks per year. more..

June 10 (CT) “If Clopatra’s nose had been shorter, the whole face of the earth would have changed”. This passage is said to mean the history of the world would have been different, and a widely used phraseology. If our genius Junius’s not his conspicuous aquiline nose but the constitutional amendment to the original master piece of Doctor Colvin was not there the entire political phase of the history would have been altogether different. I do not mean economic phase under free economy more..

June 10 (SO) Two separate investigations were carried out earlier to determine ground water contamination in Chunnakam, which led to confusion. The reports came out in April with one report that ground water was not so badly contaminated and the other claiming the spread of contamination had reduced. However, investigations by the expert committee appointed by the Ministry of Urban Development, Water Supply and more..

June 10 (CT) There was a wonderful feature in the last presidential election. The National Democratic Front named a Prime Ministerial candidate although it was a presidential election. Presidential candidate Sirisena promised in his manifesto to appoint UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe as the Prime Minister within twenty-four hours of his election. This is illegal and undemocratic. In terms of Section 79 of Presidential Election Act No. 15 of 1981, promising an office, offering an office or accepting more..

June 10 (CT) Northern politicians seems to be taking rape of young school girls and women by political criminals lightly stating that in the absence of recreation facilities in the North, the incidence of rape and crime are on the rise. Northern, Chief Minister, C.V. Wigneswaran in an interview published in our last Sunday's issue stated that the North needed more recreation facilities to the youth and the drug menace should be eliminated from the North. more..