Mar 31 (CT) "A new political culture is emerging and we must know how to sustain it. The Tamils have suffered enough in the past. The horrible events of the past continue to haunt us. In London, where the Tamil Diaspora is concentrated, there is also a concentration of very many other races, all of whom live in amity. They all lead good lives sans any conflicts. Why can't this be adopted in our country too? The new govt took action to more..

Mar 31 (DN) Tharindu Wickramasinghe who was placed first at the O/L exam, plans to be an engineer. He hopes to continue his higher studies in maths. A student at Nalanda College, Colombo, Tharindu says he is very happy with the results. He told the Daily News that it is a significunt event and a victory for his school. He is also a Chess player, scout leader and a member of the debating team. more..

Mar 31 (DM) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe criticised the sports and business media saying they could be bought over like politicians. “Front pages of Newspapers are talking of corruption. The sports pages are defending the corrupt. They are asking why we have appointed an interim committee to administer Sri Lanka Cricket. Rs.500 million is owed by Sri Lanka Cricket,” he said. "They can’t pay the money. more..

Mar 31 (Island) Central Environment Authority (CEA) has received a large number of complaints as regards the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the forthcoming second coal power project in Trincomalee. With the public hearings on the second coal fired power plant at Sampur, Trincomalee scheduled to come to an end today, officials are making plans to call tenders in May. The process may have to be further delayed with more..

Mar 31 (AD) Fishermen of the Jaffna peninsula say they welcome PM Ranil Wickremasinghe’s remarks that Indian fishermen may be shot if they intruded into Sri Lankan waters. Wickremasinghe had stirred controversy ahead of Indian PM Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Sri Lanka, when he had made the statement during an interview with an India TV channel. He had said that Sri Lankan navy would only be acting as per law more..

Mar 31 (AD) Three navy personnel have been detained and are being questioned by the CID over the killing of TNA MP Nadarajah Raviraj in 2006, the police spokesman said. Two of them are no longer serving in the Sri Lanka Navy, ASP Ruwan Gunasekara said. Raviraj, who represented the TNA from Jaffna district, died in hospital after being shot by unidentified gunmen in Colombo on November 10, 2006. more..

Mar 31 (Island) Russia has embarked on a massive programme to modernize a majority of its armaments, that would run until 2020, amidst a concern for its security and stability. Military Attache to the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Sri Lanka, Colonel Dmitry A. Mikhaylovskiy addressing a ceremony to mark the Day of the Defender of Fatherland in Colombo recently, revealed that under Russia’s new State Arms programme 70% of all types of armaments and up to 100% more..

Mar 31 (GN) A cook has been jailed for five years and two months for getting drunk and then forcing himself on his female colleague and raping her at knifepoint at her friend’s flat. The 23-year-old Sri Lankan defendant, W.S., sexually assaulted the 23-year-old Belarussian woman at knifepoint and issued death threats while he was drunk in May 2014. The Dubai Court of First Instance had earlier modified the charges from molestation to rape at knifepoint when W.S. told bench of judges more..

Mar 31 (EN) Shares ended higher Tuesday after a six-day losing streak amid a drop in treasury bill yields with gains in fabric manufacturers set to benefit from better European Union market access if a trade deal is renewed. All Share Price Index rose 37.91 points (0.56%) to close at 6,820.34 while the S&P SL 20 index, gained 19.90 points (0.52%) to end at 3,852.43. Turnover was a low 666 million rupees with only a single crossing or off-the-floor negotiated deal of 200,000 shares more..

Mar 31 (CT) Electoral reform logjam broke loose when MPs agreed to an increase to the size of the parliament from 225 to 250. The idealists are up in arms. What is the ideal size of the parliament? What is the ideal mix of representation? They are asking now. These are good questions, but, unfortunately that bus left long ago, as far back as 2007. The Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reforms was constituted in 2003 and they issued their Interim report in 2007. more..

Mar 31 (DM) Just as a new politically appointed interim committee is to take control of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), the sport’s world governing body which has not yet been officially informed of the move, warned in no uncertain terms that Sri Lanka is perilously close to being suspended from the International Cricket Council (ICC) membership. ICC’s Chief Executive David Richardson reacting swiftly to Tuesday’s Sri Lankan media reports more..

Mar 31 (CG) Lanka IOC, the Sri Lankan arm of Indian Oil Corp, is seeking 30,000 tonnes of gasoil and gasoline for delivery in April, a tender document showed on Tuesday. The company is seeking 19,000 tonnes of 0.25 percent sulphur gasoil, 9,000 tonnes of 92-octane gasoline and 2,000 tonnes of Euro 3, 92-octane gasoline. The cargoes are for delivery into China Bay, Trincomalee over April 29 to 30. The tender closes on April 5 and is valid until April 6. more..

Mar 31 (CT) Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe was quoted in this newspaper yesterday as having had said that he is for a political solution to Sri Lanka's Northern Tamil problem. However, Wickremesinghe hasn't spelt out the mechanics of such a political settlement. In this context, one remembers a speech made by Sri Lanka's then outgoing Finance Minister Ronnie de Mel. This was in late 1987. De Mel was serving under the charismatic J.R. Jayewardene, the then President and UNP leader, more..

Mar 31 (CT) Former Finance Ministry Secretary has been interrogated by the newly established Financial Crimes Investigation Division today over his involvement in the hedging deal that incurred a loss of Rs. seven billion to the govt. ASP Ruwan Gunasekara said as part of the first set of the large scale financial fraud investigations undertaken by the FCIU, Dr. PB Jayasundera was questioned today. more..

Mar 31 (AM) Businessman Ravi Wettasinghe was released on Tuesday on a surety of Rs. 100,000 and another two sureties of Rs.1 million each by the Colombo High Court today. The Attorney General had indicted Ravi Wettasinghe for swindling a company director named Don Anthony Rohan Mallawaarachchi of Rs.10 million after promising him to provide a house in Nawala area on or around September 16, 2005. The case was heard without the accused being present for several years. more..

Mar 31 (CG) Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga hit out at the former Govt accusing it of failing to ensure true freedom even after the defeat of the LTTE. Kumaratunga said that the public were unable to enjoy the true fruits of peace soon after the end of the war. She said that some people who were in power had claimed they defeated the LTTE when it was really the soldiers on the ground. Kumaratunga also said that while the former govt should have had funds after the more..

Mar 31 (DM) The Supreme Court today refused Leave to Proceed with a Fundamental Rights violation petition filed by Duminda Nawagamuwa of FSP against former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and several other respondents over deploying of army personnel during the Presidential Election. In his petition, Nawagamuwa, who contested the 2015 Presidential Election under the FSP, stated that the former president more..

Mar 31 (Island) Over 45,000 health workers including Professions Supplementary to Medicine personnel and nurses have decided to stage a token strike on Thursday demanding a Rs. 5,000 as Disturbance Availability and Transport (DAT) allowance. General Secretary of the Joint Council of Professions Supplementary to Medicine (JCPSM) and Joint Convenor, Saman Jayasekera, said that the DAT which was being introduced as a new allowance for remaining health services more..

Mar 31 (DM) The main suspect of the Rathgama PS Chairman Manoj Mendis’s killing, Janith Madusanka de Silva alias Podi Lassiya, had surrendered to the Kalutara Magistrate Court today. The suspect, who was evading Police since last Monday, surrendered to the courts through his attorneys. Kalutara Magistrate who ordered to remand the suspect until April 6 ordered the Prison authorities to produce him before Galle Additional Magistrate on the same day for further proceedings. more..

Mar 31 (DM) JHU today filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the proposed 19th Amendment to the Constitution, highlighting that the proposed devolution of powers among the heads of State and Govt was vague and the amendment itself was a violation of the election manifesto of President Maithripala Sirisena. JHU National Organiser Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe filed the petition on behalf of the party, while more..

Mar 31 (Island) The Uva Province Governor had no power to remove the Chief Minister of the Provincial Council, according to 13th Amendment to the Constitution, Faizer Mustapha PC, told the Court of Appeal, when the writ application filed by Uva Provincial Council Minister, Sampath Dissanayake was heard. Petitioner Janaka Dissanayake has challenged in the Court of Appeal, the removal of Shashindra Rajapaksa, from office of Chief Minister Uva Province, by the Provincial Governor. more..

Mar 31 (CT) It seems President Maithripala Sirisena has deliberately skipped his own brother – Priyantha Sirisena’s funeral that was held in Polonnaruwa this evening. Although the President was due to return from his official visit to China on March 28, it seems he has not returned although other officials including Minister Mangala Samaraweera has returned to Sri Lanka. Priyantha Sirisena aka Raju died on Wednesday evening at about 7 pm succumbing to injuries received from an axe attack. more..

Mar 31 (Island) The highest unemployment rate in Sri Lanka is found among those with educational qualifications above the GCE (A/L); it is about 7.9%. The problem of unemployment in SL is more acute in the case of educated females than educated males, according to Labour Force Statistics Third Quarter-2014. Unemployment rate reported for females is 6% cent and it is 3.3% for males. more..

Mar 31 (EN) Sri Lanka's state-owned energy utilities are to issue 2.5 billion US dollars worth of bonds as part of a restructuring plan by the new govt released Tuesday. The financial restructuring of the debt-ridden CPC and CEB is part of a wider 10-year energy sector plan announced by Minister Champika Ranawaka. One of the aims of the new plan is the broadening of energy sector investments to include bonds, debentures, public-private partnerships and "other novel financial instruments." more..

Mar 31 (AM) Colombo Magistrate Courts released UPFA MP Sajin de Vass Gunawardena on two sureties of Rs 1 million each when the case filed against him by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption was taken up this morning. Colombo Magistrate also prohibited Sajin de Vass Gunawardena from leaving the country. Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption filed a lawsuit on March 20 at Colombo Magistrate Courts against more..

Mar 31 (LBO) Minister Champika Ranawaka says energy has become a powerful political tool not only in the island but internationally also as it plays a major role in the economy. “The energy sector not only effects the economy of the country it has an impact on the day to day activates of the people and society and their culture and most importantly the politics,” he said. “Most of the international issues like political conflicts & other armed conflicts more..

Mar 31 (CT) PHU said that Central Govt was playing power games by applying undue pressure on Provincial Councils to tow the line of the govt in lieu of extending the terms of local govt institutions. PHU General Secretary and Western Provincial Councillor, Udaya Gammanpila added that the govt had extended the term of local govt institutions by six weeks on account of disciplined behaviour on the part of provincial councillors, following which they would further extend the term. more..

Mar 31 (DM) Residents of Meetiyagoda, which is under a cloud after revelations of systemic terror unleashed on residents by gangs, now supply information to Police on the underworld by cutting letters out of papers to withhold their identities. Earlier this year parents of two children were murdered in broad daylight in the village. The villagers allege that they are under a reign of terror with underworld gangs roaming freely in the area and terrorizing villagers. more..

Mar 31 (PTI) Amid claims by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa that the new Sri Lankan govt is carrying out a political witch hunt against his associates, more senior officials of his administration were grilled by investigators on Tuesday. P.B. Jayasundera, Mr. Rajapaksa’s top bureaucrat in the Finance Ministry during his nearly decade-long rule, was interrogated by police’s Financial Crime Investigation Unit (FCIU) on Tuesday. more..

Mar 31 (DM) The Galle Road has been closed from Kollupitiya Junction to Galle Face Roundabout due to the protest launched by university students. Heavy traffic congestion was reported along Galle Road, Thunmulla and Bambalapitiya due to a protest march by the university students heading towards Colombo. Police advised motorists to use alternative routes in order to avoid inconveniences. The protest march, organized by the IUSF, commenced from Uni of Sri J'pura based on several demands. more..

Mar 31 (CG) BBS General Secretary Galagodaaththe Gnanasara thero has been questioned by the special police unit of Ministry of Buddha Sasana and Religions Affairs. Special police unit was established to investigate incidents of violence targeting a community or individuals based on their religion. BBS CEO Dilantha Withanage said that Gnanasara thero was asked to appear before the special police unit of Ministry of Buddha Sasana & Religions Affairs this evening. more..

Mar 31 (PTI) Former captain Mahela Jayawardene is set to take over a role with the country's cricket administration to develop the infrastructure of the local game at the feeder level. Minister Navin Dissanayake said that Jayawardene, 37, has consented to a futuristic role in restructuring the schools and junior level cricket. Jayawardene, who retired from ODIs after the World Cup, was one of the finest batsmen to come through the more..