Jan 12 (CT) It is most likely that the post OISL, transitional justice, reparations, reconciliation, and accountability, mechanisms and non-recurrence assurance systems and structures will be made up of following initiatives: Public petitions be called for by TRC and received possibly regionally and also centrally. It is not known as of now, whether Commission members, spread out amongst regions, with their support teams will have a process of regional hearings, in addition to receiving more..

Jan 12 (CT) The National Govt with the participation of the UNP will not be successful and I will never accept any portfolio offered to me by the Govt, UPFA MP Premelal Jayasekara said. Q: You emerged first in your district during the General Election, what are you planning to do for your supporters? A: I was elected to the Parliament by the people and I was elected with the highest vote by people in my district in LG election. more..

Jan 12 (CT) Govt set the stage for the drafting of a new constitution when PM Ranil Wickremesinghe presented a resolution to Parliament on Jan 9 that would convene it as a constitutional assembly. The timing was symbolically important as this was the date that marked the commencement of President Maithripala Sirisena’s second year in office. President Sirisena was also in Parliament to make a special address to Parliament. President’s commitment to stripping himself of more..

Jan 12 (ST) When it was first revealed-no thanks to our foreign ministry which was hiding the news like it was their family boodelay- that Tony Blair would deliver the Lakshman Kadirgamar Memorial Lecture last year, my Sunday column was headlined Beware of Blair bearing fibs. When the Blair family eventually turned up in Sri Lanka last November supposedly on holiday, my column of the week was titled Blair pair came with their sales ware. One can now understand why everybody more..

Jan 12 (GV) A song posted on the You Tube comparing President Maithripala Sirisena with ancient kings of Pollonnaruwa gave rise to a storm of social-media protests and was removed within hours. PM Hirunika Premachandra was arrested for her alleged involvement in the Kollonnawa abduction. It would have been better if that hagiographic video was never made. more..

Jan 12 (Island) Constitution of Sri Lanka clearly states the role of the govt in relation to the environment. Article 27 (14) states, the State shall protect, preserve and improve the environment for the benefit of the community. Article 28 (f) also states, it is the duty of every person in Sri Lanka to protect nature and conserve its riches. Hence, it is obvious the Govt is bound by the Constitution to protect, preserve and improve the environment of the country. more..

Jan 12 (CT) Minister of Fisheries Mahinda Amaraweera has come forward to take stringent measures to prevent the infiltration of the South Indian fishermen into the Northern territorial waters. Minister Amaraweera at a special meeting with the representatives of the fisheries associations in the North on Sunday has instructed the Navy to take into custody the Indian fishermen and their vessels as much as possible to safeguard the fishing activities in the North. more..

Jan 12 (GV) As I watched Silence in the Courts, a documentary movie by award-winning SL filmmaker Prasanna Vithanage aired at University of Ottawa Human Rights Film Festival on 3rd Dec 2015, the narrative was all too familiar – the powerful man and the powerless woman – showing man’s unchecked reptilian indulgence for power, pleasure and to procreate, being played out. In this case, if not for a couple of more enlightened men who believed the woman’s story enough to share it with world, more..

Jan 12 (EN) Increased borrowing by SL’s govt could hurt prospects for investment by the private sector, World Bank has warned in a new report. “Large fiscal deficits in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka increase risks that rising government borrowing will crowd out private investment,” bank said in its report on global economic prospects for 2016. “In Sri Lanka, external debt has increased since 2014, due to both private and public borrowing, and govt contingent liabilities have also risen fast.” more..

Jan 12 (O) Although President Maithripala Sirisena has claimed he perceived no problem with regard the TNA's dissident political front, the Tamil People's Council (TPC), political observers say new developments indicate the Council, given the current political atmosphere, will invariably be a short-lived endeavour. TNA leader R. Sampanthan has already taken TPC leader and NPC CM C.V. Wigneswaran to task for his role in creating more..

Jan 12 (GV) A year ago, a great electoral victory was set in motion with the coming together of the joint opposition and the common candidate, President Maithripala Sirisena. This was not the first time a common candidacy had been attempted in order to challenge the Rajapaksa regime. In the previous Presidential election in 2010, the common candidate Sarath Fonseka was defeated electorally and jailed. This was the indelible image that served as a warning to any future challengers. more..

Jan 12 (FT) PM has for the first time been invited to attend the 46th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. PM Ranil Wickremesinghe has been invited to attend the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2016 from 20-23 Jan with the participation of over 40 heads of state and 2500 economists. High-profile meeting brings together some top business leaders, international political leaders, selected intellectuals, and journalists to discuss the most pressing more..

Jan 12 (ST) Amitav Ghosh, Sebastian Faulks, Meera Syal, Sonali Deraniyagala, Tom Holland and Gregory Pardlo- they are all going to be here this January for the Fairway Galle Literary Festival along with a host of other writers, poets and artistes who promise a veritable feast of literature. With barely a week to go before the 2016 Festival begins, tickets are moving fast. Festival which starts off in Kandy (Jan 9 and 10) and moves to more..

Jan 12 (DN) A man who was critically injured after falling into the sea at Galle Face while searching for a boy who had disappeared, was pronounced dead upon admission to the hospital yesterday. The deceased has been identified as Chinthaka Sameera, 34, a resident of Maligawatta, Colombo 10. He had fallen into the sea when his foot slipped¸ Police said. Meanwhile, Police and Navy launched a search operation for Mohommad Arshard, 16, who disappeared at Galle Face on Sunday. more..

Jan 12 (CT) Ex-Estate offerings in the island's first tea auction for the year held last week totalled a 1.0 M/kgs, marginally lower to the previous auction quantity of 1.1 M/Kgs. There was good demand particularly for the better teas. Best Western BOPs recorded a substantial gain on select invoices following air mail inquiry whilst the others together with the brighter below best sorts gained Rs 10-20 per kg. Corresponding BOPF's gained Rs 5-10 per kg. and more for the brighter sorts, more..

Jan 12 (ST) Serious questions are being raised as to why early action was not taken against crisis-hit Entrust Securities (Entrust), a primary dealer of Central Bank (CB), by the regulator when issues relating to mismanagement first came to light more than two years ago in 2013. The close connection between Entrust’s majority owners, the (Anuruddha) Ratwatte family, and Rajapaksa regime is emerging as one of the possible reasons more..

Jan 12 (LBO) Public Utilities Commission will need to have sector specific Acts for it to have power to regulate water and petroluem sectors, a senior official said. “Actually water and petroleum sectors are listed in our Public Utilities Commission Act which has been in operation since 2002 but we need sector specific Acts for water and petroleum for us to regulate those sectors,” Damitha Kumarasinghe, Director General, Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) said. more..

Jan 12 (DN) Ceyoka (Pvt) Ltd has established itself in lighting with a project by lighting the new Colombo Port's East Container Terminal. Ceyoka Engineering's professional lighting division has the technical expertise to customize professional lighting solutions. "On professional lighting we provide solutions for outdoor, infrastructure, industrial and commercial lighting; for architectural lighting and provide solutions for residential and hospitality sectors," said, Ceyoka Engineering's GM more..

Jan 12 (CM) If a plane flies into an empty airport, does it make a sound? On paper Sri Lanka has two international airports. One, BIA, is long-established, and sits conveniently about 20 miles outside the capital city of Colombo. According to the Civil Aviation Authority of SL, it saw over 55,000 air craft movements in 2014, with those planes shipping nearly 200,000 tonnes of air freight and the best part of 8m passengers. more..

Jan 12 (DN) Sri Lanka will add 45,000 luxury hotel rooms by the end first quarter of next year said Minister of Tourism John Amaratunge. “Many hotels are being built. By the first quarter of next year 45,000 hotel rooms will be built in the country,” he told BBC. Minister said that tourist arrivals, especially from Western Europe, China, Middle East and India, had seen a significant increase. He said that the tourist arrivals have been steadily increasing since the end of the war and recent data from more..

Jan 12 (AM) Head of the Presidential Security Division under former President Rajapakasa's administration, Senior DIG S.M. Wickremasinghe is one of the front-runners for the IGP's position which will be vacant in April, sources said. Current IGP N.K. Illangakoon is to retire from service on April 12, they further added. Wickremesinghe, one of the most senior officers in the Department, also functioned as the IGP in the recent past, when IGP Illangakoon left for foreign tours. more..

Jan 12 (CT) President Maithripala Sirisena who completed one year in Presidency said he will work for the country and fulfil his duties after five more years as well. Q: If what took place on 8 Jan 2015 was a revolution, it occurred because the people had thoughts more forward than politicians. People gave you powers expecting political reforms. Were you able to deliver the political reforms people expected? more..

Jan 12 (GDI) A celebration to mark the 150 years completion of the first newspaper of Sri Lanka Gnanartha Pradeepaya, was held yesterday at Cardinal’s House in Colombo under the patronage of President Maithripala Sirisena. Gnanartha Pradeepaya extended a noble service to build the Catholic spirituality and fulfilled the national responsibility. It also fulfilled a task for the national and religious reconciliation of the country. Paper was founded by Catholic Priest Peter Ilari and more..

Jan 12 (GDI) A Sri Lanka - Japan Policy Dialogue at the Senior Official Level between the two Foreign Ministries will be held today at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Colombo. The Policy Dialogue will be chaired by Ranjith Uyangoda, Additional Secretary of the East Asia & Pacific and Pubic Communications Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Japanese delegation will be led by Mr. Kazuya Nashida, Director General of the Southeast and Southwest Asian Affairs Department more..

Jan 12 (FT) In a major boost to the present unity govt’s reconciliation efforts, UN has given its thumbs-up to Sri Lanka-and in his next month’s ground-breaking visit to Colombo, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Al Hussein will focus on, among others, the issues of Lankan IDPs who are still stranded, as announced on 11 Jan in Colombo. “I am not saying good-byes right away since I shall be back to Sri Lanka more..

Jan 12 (FT) President has appointed Deputy Speaker Thilanga Sumathipala as the Co-Chairman of the Divisional Coordinating Committees of the Divisional Secretary’s Division of Thimbirigasyaya, Colombo East, Colombo West and Borella, and the Divisions of Homagama, Sitawaka and Padukka. Deputy Speaker Sumathipala, in his capacity as a Co-Chairman, will coordinate, oversee implementation and will also monitor the activities of institutions both govt and non-govt more..

Jan 12 (HCI) High Commission of India in Sri Lanka celebrated Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (PBD) 2016 on January 9, 2016 at Indian Cultural Centre, Colombo. About 50 prominent members of Pravasi Bhartiya community in Sri Lanka were invited to attend the event. Hon'ble Minister of National Co-existence, Dialogue and Official Languages of Sri Lanka, Mr. Mano Ganesan, was the Chief Guest on the occasion. Shri Y.K. Sinha, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, was also present. more..

Jan 12 (Island) Former Minister G.L. Peiris said UNP-SLFP coalition would amend PM’s Ranil Wickremesinghe’s resolution for enacting a new Constitution. He said Joint Opposition, JVP as well as the SLFPers in the govt wanted far reaching amendments to the motion. Parliament will have a special session today to consider amendments. Urging govt to be flexible, he said proposed constitution making process more..

Jan 12 (NZH) As the Sri Lankan cricketers finished their tour of New Zealand with a crushing defeat, an end finally arrived to what has been a record stint of clashes between the two teams. Since Sri Lanka began their Cricket World Cup preparation with a 2014 Boxing Day test, they have played the Black Caps a staggering 19 times across all formats. Spread out amongst four test matches, 13 one-day internationals and two Twenty 20s, Sri Lanka only found success on three occasions, more..

Jan 12 (TI) Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, two all-time greats from the subcontinent, are set to be involved in an important way by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). "The three of us are in touch with each other and I'd like both Mahela and Kumar to be associated in an important way. "Mahela and Kumar are currently busy with the Big Bash in Australia and both should be back home in the next 10 days. "I'll then speak to both in person, instead of long-distance, and more..

Jan 12 (DN) Homagama Magistrate observed that the Army Commander could be arrested and charge sheet filed if he does not cooperate with investigations into the disappearance of journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda. Magistrate made this observation consequent to a complaint by Senior State Counsel (SSC) Dileepa Peiris who appeared on behalf of Attorney General. SSC Peiris submitted to Court that Army has not fully cooperated more..

Jan 12 (FT) Counsel for Avant-Garde Nishan Premathiratne said that Avant-Garde Maritime Services has sent a letter of demand seeking a sum exceeding Rs. 2 billion from the SL Navy for the unlawful takeover of the Galle floating armory on 13 Nov 2015. It alleged that the Navy action was in violation of the agreements entered between Avant-Garde and Rakna Arakshaka Lanka. This fact was revealed by the legal team comprising President’s Counsel Kuvera de Zoysa and Premathiratne more..

Jan 12 (DM) Colombo Royal College Principal Upali Gunasekera has been transferred to the Education Ministry with immediate effect. Mr. Gunasekera, who was the Principal of the Royal College since 2003, has been transferred pending an investigation. Meanwhile, Thurstan College Principal B.A. Abeyratne is tipped to be appointed as the new Principal of Royal College, they said. Earlier, Mr. Abeyratne was the Ananda College Principal and later transferred to the Education Ministry more..

Jan 12 (DM) SLFP said the nine-point amendment presented by them on the resolution to convert Parliament into a Constitutional Assembly was accepted by UNP and the resolution was likely to be passed in Parliament. Resolution was not approved on Saturday at the special parliamentary session for the purpose because of disagreements on the resolution presented by PM Ranil Wickremesinghe among opposition more..

Jan 12 (Island) India is reported to have shot down a multi-million-dollar fighter jet deal between Sri Lanka and Pakistan/China. New Delhi has made known its opposition to the proposed transaction in no uncertain terms, through a non-paper diplomatic missive conveyed to the highest echelons of the Sri Lankan govt, according to a news item we published yesterday, quoting an Indian newspaper. New Delhi has reportedly given, in its diplomatic message, a negative technical assessment of more..

Jan 12 (Island) After navigating through a procedural journey, the final destination for the enactment of a New Constitution is per Paragraph 28 of the Resolution, intended to be, for "…the PM (to) move that the Bill be passed by Parliament by a special majority required under Article 83 of the Constitution." and per Paragraph 29, "Thereafter the Bill shall be submitted by the President in terms of Article 85 (1) of the Constitution to the People by Referendum for their approval". more..

Jan 12 (SL) Astonishing revelations have now come to light how billions of rupees of tax payers’ money had been swindled when purchasing spare parts for the SL Transport Board (SLTB) by top-notch Transport Ministry officials, who allegedly engaged in a major tax racket incurring losses of millions of tax rupees to govt coffers during the latter part of the Rajapaksa regime. It is alleged that although tenders were called from bidders to more..

Jan 12 (AD) The Bakery Owners Association says that there will be no increase in the selling prices of bakery products. Chairman of the Association N.K. Jayawardena said however the prices of raw materials for bakery products have been increased with several taxes proposed in the Budget 2016. However, refuting reports that the price of wheat flour has been increased by Rs 2 per kg, Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) earlier more..

Jan 12 (KT) The Dubai Police have busted a gang of five Sri Lankans who stand accused of stealing millions of dirhams worth of valuables from villas in Dubai before attempting to flee the country. On Monday, the Dubai Police Operations Room received information about a theft in a villa in Dubai's Al Barsha area. The police rushed to the scene and were told by the homeowner, an Emirati, that when he came more..