Jan 26 (CT) During the Presidential election in January 2010, I had my own personal experiences regarding the sneaky activities of certain JVP leaders that prevented my presence on the opposition candidate’s election platform in canvassing people against the previous regime. An incident similar to this, on 2 April 2015, appears to indicate that the JVP had been behind the influencing of the ITN not to telecast an interview conducted with Kumar. more..

Jan 26 (ST) Aficionados of Groucho Marx, that hilariously witty comedian, might recall that he once threatened to horsewhip somebody- if he had a horse, that is. President Sirisena is no jester, not even when he was in the court of Medamulana Mahinda. Moreover he is probably not as acquainted with horses as he is with asses having spent most of his life in politics and associated with many. So when heard he of ga-ga eyed girls throwing themselves at a passing Spanish singer and more..

Jan 26 (FT) City hoteliers are backing minimum room rate policy insisting that it has been highly beneficial and abandoning it would spell doom for leisure industry. “Sri Lanka tourism has gained more positives than negatives from the minimum room rate policy,” Colombo City Hoteliers Association President M. Shanthikumar said in an apparent rejoinder to a Jones Lang LaSalle report that sounded a warning against the move. more..

Jan 26 (Island) Pressure is mounting on govt not to ink controversial Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA), which, its critics argue, is CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) by another name. Proponents of the controversial pact are now in a quandary; they are blowing hot and cold. GMOA, which is at the forefront of anti-ETCA campaign, has complained of a sinister attempt in some quarters to tarnish its image by using a kidney more..

Jan 26 (Island) There appears to be some anxiety that Indian police had in an investigation into alleged Kidney operations done with kidneys obtained on payment there, found they were done by some doctors of this country, in hospitals here. Police authorities have said that no such report had been received by them. The question is, if they receive such a report, what will they do? To add to the confusion our Health Minster had, in a knee jerk reaction, ordered to stop kidney transplants more..

Jan 26 (FT) The damage done to Sri Lankan institutions and democracy over the past several years has been so immense that the reconstruction of the broken systems has been a massive challenge for the new Govt, former President Chandrika Kumaratunga said recently. Speaking at a Thaipongal ceremony in Kandy, former President who is presently spearheading reconciliation processes under the new administration, said there were many complaints about delayed action more..

Jan 26 (FT) For about a year now workmen have been busy on Isipathana Road, a secondary road off Havelock Road, in the region of Colombo 5. Isipathana Road which is roughly about half a kilometre in length connects to both Fife Road and Chitra Lane which are access roads to the townships of Thimbirigasyaya and Narahenpita. As far as I am aware, Isipathana is not a bus route, nor is it used by heavy vehicles or commercial traffic in notable numbers, although like more..

Jan 26 (SO) Young men on the roads take more risks and tend to be careless in comparison to young women. A survey carried out by Accident Services Unit in Nov 2015 revealed. The survey was based on the age of the persons involved in road accident injuries treated at the Accident Services, revealed that the majority were between 20-24 years (13%) the second highest group between 25-29 years, (11.6%), more..

Jan 26 (DN) Dreamron Beauty College, a subsidiary of Dreamron Lanka is eager to open one of their colleges in Tehran, Iran. This is to promote high quality educational systems for the hair and beauty industry. Dreamron Lanka Director and Iran and Middle East Operations Head, Amin Kamyab said that beauty industry is growing and demand for skilled hair dressers is increasing in Iran. “These kind of educational systems on beauty culture empower individuals to maximise their more..

Jan 26 (Island) Dialog Television, further ramped up its channel offering with the addition of three new channels to its bouquet. The addition of Sony Channel, Zee Living and Rangiri TV expands Dialog Television's market leading international and local channel line up to a total of 118. Dialog presents the best in entertainment to its viewers with exclusive local and international channel offerings including Universal, Star World Premiere HD, AXN, Warner TV, CNBC, Revision TV, Redee TVSony Kix, more..

Jan 26 (CT) Keerthi Pasqual has been in the music field since 1976. He became a singer in 1985. So far, he has sung more than 600 songs. He had a very sensitive experience on 15 January. Reportedly, he cried a lot after that. Dinusha Fernando was a 29-year-old woman who had been suffering from renal failure for more than 20 months. She also underwent an open heart surgery when she suffered from video link 1 video link 2 more..

Jan 26 (ST) When the Fairway Galle Literay Festival is held in Jaffna today, Indian storyteller Geeta Ramanujam is likely to be one of the big draws. Hailed as the Goddess of storytelling, she is a renowned storyteller, educator, academician and administrator, and the Executive Director of Kathalaya Trust. Geeta uses storytelling as an effective educational and cultural tool in many leading educational institutions in India and abroad. Founder of Kathalaya and an Ashoka Fellow, more..

Jan 26 (Hindu) Fifty-five members from Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry here will embark on a week-long visit to Sri Lanka in a bid to improve trade relations with the Tamil-dominant Northern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka. A statement from the chamber said that the delegation will meet C.V. Vigneswaran, Chief Minister of the Northern Province, and Nazeer Ahamed, Chief Minister of the Eastern Province. The delegation will also participate in trade conferences, more..

Jan 26 (Island) Initiative Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) took to bring the captaincies of all three formats under one person was a step in the right direction. Angelo Mathews, groomed for the job from a very young age, has risen through the ranks, having led SL Under-19 and the ‘A’ team. The manner in which Mathews was stripped of T-20 captaincy caused much discomfort within the national team. more..

Jan 26 (EN) A Norwegian company has proposed setting up a 300MW solar power plant in Sri Lanka and is waiting for more clarity on regulations governing renewable energy projects in the island. Thorbjourn Gaustadsaether, Ambassador of Norway to SL, said a Norwegian company has done a feasibility study for generating 300MW of power from solar energy and scaling it up to 900MW. “The company is ready to make its presence here as and when the required green light is given,” more..

Jan 26 (JW) NSW Parliamentary Friends of Israel deputy chair and Deputy Opposition leader in the NSW Parliament’s Legislative Council Walt Secord has paid a visit to the only Jewish World War II grave in Sri Lanka’s historic Kandy Commonwealth cemetery. Up until about eight years ago, the Jewish soldier’s grave had been mistakenly marked with a Christian symbol, but it was replaced due to the efforts of British Jewish ex-servicemen and women. On the trip earlier this month, more..

Jan 26 (ST) A Colombo court was urged not to allow Colombo businessman Harry Jayawardena to harass people and abuse the law. The request was made to Colombo High Court Judge N.V. Karunatilleke by Gamini Marapana, senior counsel appearing for Zaki Alif, in a case involving Mr. Jayawardena and his complaint over the alleged violation of his proprietary tea blend. There are several cases in a dispute originating more..

Jan 26 (LBO) Sri Lanka’s govt is putting in place processes to list some of its non-strategic investments on the Colombo Stock Exchange, although this may not take place immediately, deputy minister Eran Wickramaratne said. “Within a year that’s possible. But whatever we are doing, we want to do it properly and transparently and we are putting the processes in place,” he said. In budget plans for 2016, the govt said it wants to streamline its portfolio of investments and more..

Jan 26 (CT) Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara reassured that no changes will be made to the list of players already selected in SL Badminton Team for South Asian Games (SAG) which will be held in India next month. He made these comments when he had the opportunity of meeting the parents of 8-member SL men's badminton team at the ministry office. Badminton Federation earlier, named a 16-member squad comprising of 8 men and 8 women following trials conducted last month. more..

Jan 26 (ST) The 66 year-old Kankesanturai Cement Corporation (KCC), which suspended production after the Sri Lanka Army took over the land and buildings with the escalation of the war in 1990, is to be revived soon, a senior official said. Established in 1950 – at the time as the only cement factory in South Asia, KCC is to be re-started with an investment of Rs. 1,500 million with plans to recover the investment in 15 years at 8% profit, more..

Jan 26 (EN) Sri Lanka was the top importer of used cars from Japan in terms of value in 2015 with imports being relatively new cars, mainly hybrids and electrics, data has showed. The main reason for the heightened demand for this category of vehicles was aggressive lending by commercial banks. The sharp fall in financing rates last year increased affordability which coupled with an overvalued exchange rate till Sept fuelled a massive increase in demand, JB Securities said. more..

Jan 26 (DN) Sri Lanka Under 19's beat Nepal under 19's by 65 runs in the second warm up match of ICC Youth World Cup played at Krira Shikkha Protishthan in Bangladesh. Nepal Under 19's won the toss and elected to field. Sri Lanka U19's scored 230 runs for 9 wickets in 45 overs. Sammu Ashan deputy skipper of Sri Lanka scored unbeaten 81 runs in 74 deliveries with 4 boundaries and 4 sixes. Charith Asalanka skipper of Sri Lanka scored 71 runs in 68 balls with 10 boundaries. more..

Jan 26 (Island) Minister Daya Gamage charged that Minister Champika Ranawaka was still following the previous govt’s policies. After filing a case against acquiring a land at Boralesgamua by Ranawaka’s Ministry, Gamage said near the Superior Court Complex, Hulftsdorp, that the acquisition of lands belonging to the poor for development was not the policy of the UNP, but some ministers were still harassing more..

Jan 26 (Island) With the World T-20 just around the corner, there is a lot of interest on domestic T-20 competition and Super T-20 Provincial Tournament gets underway today at Premadasa Stadium. SLC President Thilanga Sumathipala said that this tournament will help selectors to select best teams for the upcoming World T-20 and Asia Cup. "This is a good opportunity for players. I hope at least one good player will come out from this tournament and represent the country in World T-20 and more..

Jan 26 (CT) Registrar of the Negombo High Court confirmed that the Seya Sandewmi rape and murder trial case was taken up yesterday and that the hearing of it would most probably be continued daily. The main defendant is Saman Jayalath, whose deoxyribonucleic acid matched samples taken from the slain girl from Kotadeniyawa in September last year. Jayalath's younger as Dunesh Priyashantha alias Kondaya along with a schoolboy was previously arrested in relation to the case and more..

Jan 26 (Hindu) Lacunae in the law related to kidney transplantation in Sri Lanka helped the kidney racket kingpin Suresh Prajapathi to make fast bucks. Suresh, who was arrested by the Nalgonda police after busting the kidney transplantation racket recently, told his interrogators that gaps in the legal provisions helped him exploit the kidney donors and recipients. Hailing from Ahmedabad, racket mastermind made use of more..

Jan 26 (DN) Former Ceylinco Group Chairman Lalith Kotelawala arrived at the Presidential Commission of Inquiry to Investigate and Inquire into Serious Acts of Fraud, Corruption and Abuse of Power, State Resources and Privileges (PRECIFAC) yesterday. Kotalawela arrived on a wheel chair. PRECIFAC Secretary said Kotelawala was summoned to record a statement with regard to an alleged financial irregularity said to have taken place during the construction of a building on Galle Road, more..

Jan 26 (V) Not only are these critical natural resources, they are also inextricably linked with each other. Water is needed to grow food. Energy is needed to pump water and to plant, grow and distribute food. Water is required to produce energy. And so on. The trade-offs and synergies among the three are so important economically that it has a name: the food-energy-water nexus. Researchers at Vanderbilt’s Institute for Energy and the Environment and Stanford’s Woods Institute more..

Jan 26 (NG) During the past several years, I've watched country after country destroy their stockpiles of confiscated elephant ivory, preventing that ivory from somehow slipping back into the black market and symbolically demonstrating commitment to stopping the illegal trade. But to my mind, something that’s always been missing is an apology: No country has ever formally said sorry for its complicity in the trade. more..

Jan 26 (FT) The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, in a pioneering move for a Sri Lankan business grouping, is launching a set of premier thought-leadership groups to represent the country’s foremost insights on key strategic economic themes. The National Agenda Committees - or NACs - will be a set of multi-stakeholder groups functioning under CCC, to challenge conventional thinking, develop new insights, and put forward innovative solutions for key national economic challenges. more..

Jan 26 (EN) A slowdown in remittances, Sri Lanka’s highest foreign exchange earner, because of troubles in the Middle East could hit the economy badly, an economist said. “Lower oil prices have an impact on remittances,” said Saman Kelegama, Executive Director of the Institute of Policy Studies, a think-tank. “Remittances account for nine percent of GDP and are the highest foreign exchange earner in Sri Lanka. A decline in remittances is going to hit the economy strongly.” more..

Jan 26 (Island) Homagama Magistrate issued an arrest warrant on Ven. Gnanasara thera for disrupting court proceedings. When Thera was witnessing open court hearing of Ekneligoda case, Magistrate ordered the further remanding of six army intelligence officers arrested in connection with the disappearance. Whereupon Thera shouted: Cruel officials of the present govt are remanding war heroes more..

Jan 26 (DM) Fighting for national list slots in the Parliament has been reported from two political parties, SLMC led by Minister Rauff Hakeem and ACMC led by Minister Rishad Bathiutheen, both of whom contested under the UNP at the General elections held on August 17 last year. Lobbying by several aspirants for another national list seat vacated by the demise of Deputy Minister M.K.A.D.S. Gunawardene is reported to have begun within the UNP as well. more..

Jan 26 (DM) Last week, this newspaper reported that some hotels in the Mirissa Bay area were refusing to serve Sri Lankans on the purported uncivilized behaviour of local visitors. The report quoted a humiliated customer as complaining of being turned away from several places, when he ordered a simple cup of coffee. Since people don’t get high over a cup of coffee, those are not preventive measures to wade off alcohol fuelled idiosyncrasies. more..

Jan 26 (DM) An iconic constituent of the country’s wildlife, elephants have been living in this island for thousands of years and have been revered ever since. Yet over the years, the dominance of mankind has taken over the world and not many species of flora and fauna could be found today. With the emergence of the human-elephant conflict in Sri Lanka, elephants have been looked upon as a curse to the country when more..

Jan 26 (AM) Galagodaatte Gnanasara Thera was remanded till Feb 9 by Homagama Magistrate's Court today. He was arrested this morning when he surrendered to the Homagama Police. Homagama Magistrate issued an arrest warrant against Gnanasara Thera yesterday on three charges including threatening a state official, obstructing court proceedings and contempt of court. He addressed court yesterday immediately more..

Jan 26 (SL) The National Police Commission (NPC) has so far received 752 complaints against the police from October 21, 2015 to date. According to the secretary of the NPC, Ariyadasa Cooray, as and when they receive these complaints the NPC calls for a report from the police. “Currently these reports are being processed, and we are geared to conduct the investigation into these cases. First of all, we have to call for more..

Jan 26 (ST) The moment a patient is brought in with any kind of poisoning, doctors in all State hospitals need not flick through books to check out the best management for that particular case, for this information is now available at the click of the internet. This tox-base (www.toxbaselanka.info) by the National Poisons Information Centre located within the National Hospital of Sri Lanka (NHSL) in Colombo while providing in-depth information more..

Jan 26 (HCI) High Commission of India and the Indian expatriate community in Sri Lanka celebrated the 67th Republic Day of India today at India House in Colombo. High Commissioner Mr. Y.K. Sinha unfurled the Indian flag and inspected a Guard of Honour presented by a contingent of Border Security Force. He read out excerpts from the Address to the Nation on the eve of the Republic Day by President of India, Pranab Mukherjee. more..