June 20 (DN) Residents in Katukelle and Kandangoda in Kuruwita are grieving the death of a young couple who were in the prime of their youth whose bodies were found floating in the Sudagala Anicut by Kuruwita Police on information provided by neighbours on June 17. The bodies were identified as that of Neranjan Lakshitha, 24, studying for an external degree and his girl friend Lakmali Munasinghe, 22, a student following a computer course in Handapangoda. more..

June 20 (IBT) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha assured the state assembly on Monday that her government would retrieve the Katchatheevu Island, which was given to Sri Lanka by India in 1974. The AIADMK supremo said her government had been unable to take back Katchatheevu even after 25 years of efforts because of the opposition DMK. Jayalalithaa was responding to Leader of Opposition MK Stalin when she made the statement. more..

June 21 (SL) A consultation for drafting a new Constitution by Some People for Some People was on in the Chambers of senior lawyer and veteran politician of many parties, with Jumping Perera himself in the chair. Jumping Perera: Distinguished invitees, you are all well aware of the reasons for the choice of this topic. All drafted constitutions in existence today and those extinct were drafted by Some People for Some People of the People to fool all the People. more..

June 21 (CT) The UNP led common opposition won the Presidential election in January 2015. Their partners including Civil Society organizations (and our dear old Rt. Venerable Sobitha himi) that joined the campaign for regime change were penniless. The cost of the election campaign ran in to several billions for the UNP, the main architect of the common opposition. The Indians and the West (USA, Norway, Switzerland etc.) invested heavily on the UNP to cause regime change, more..

June 21 (SO) A blurred CCTV footage showed a man standing by the side of a relatively deserted road, looking to get to the other side. He held onto a bicycle with a toddler seated on the cycle bar. In a split second a speeding car crashed in to them sending the child up in the air like a balloon. Moments before the accident, when the man was run over by the car, he was seen flinching as he stared helplessly at the car, more..

June 21 (CT) Recently there has been a spurt of interest in defining what Jan 8 2015 truly meant for Sri Lanka. This discussion has emerged in a context where the govt is being accused of betraying the mandate on which they were elected. This is supposed to be the yahapalana govt (a loose translation of the term good governance) but the question today for many people is wither yahapalana? What exactly is the mandate of yahapalana? more..

June 21 (SL) Except that it would have provoked the editor’s red pencil, I’d have ended the title of this piece with ‘… particularly when they (those means) only succeed in perpetuating what the ‘ends’ were supposed to remove!’ In case there is any doubt – apart from those embedded in some of the moronic brigades that insist on demonstrating their total lack of intelligence – I speak of the current Maithripala/Ranil (MR2) govt. What has raised the ire of those observing more..

June 21 (SL) Former media spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said that while the govt is planning on presenting the Right to Information Bill (RTI) next week in parliament, he has concerns that this move will only further restrict the freedom of the media and the people. In an interview he pointed out that there is a section to list the areas that cannot be questioned and that includes defence and intelligence which he feels is reasonable. more..

June 21 (GV) Inside India’s Central Information Commission, Professor M Sridhar Acharyulu is hearing a case on illegal occupation. The applicant wants to know if the Registrar of Co-operative Societies, (RCS) which deals with housing, has complied with an order to evict an employee from one of its flats. Despite repeated reminders, leading to an order for the employee to vacate, the applicant believes no action has been taken. Acharyulu makes his decision. more..

June 21 (CT) Sri Lanka has started off their campaign for the One day series and the T20's on a good footing with their convincing win over Ireland. Though encountering the English could be an entirely different proposition, winning is always a good thing. At the time this column is read the series against the Irish would have been decided with the Lankans crossing the channel to be back in England for the curtain raiser on 21 June. The test series would have naturally disappointed a more..

June 21 (TD) SL is in an enviable location. The busy East-West shipping route passes just six to ten nautical miles south of the island. More than 60,000 ships ply this route annually, carrying two-thirds of the world’s oil and half of all container shipments. Sri Lanka is also at the doorstep of a dynamic market – India. Already, 75% of Colombo port volumes are transshipments from India; the Indian middle class market alone is set to expand to 10 times the island’s entire population. more..

June 21 (Island) The Report of the Public Representations Committee (PRC) on Constitutional Reform (see, yourconsitution.lk) has generated public discussion in these pages and one area that attracts interest in these discussions is devolution of power. Such discussions have highlighted that the PRC has recommended retaining the Province as the unit of Devolution and gone onto discuss its political implications for democracy. The intention of this article is to point out that more..

June 21 (DM) The mandate of 3-member Commission appointed by former president Rajapaksa in August 2003 to investigate and report on missing persons will end on July 15 and will be replaced by the proposed Office of Missing Persons (OMP), Eastern Province Governor Austin Fernando said. He said OMP would be a permanent body and the reverent Act would be presented in Parliament next month. more..

June 21 (Island) STF Commandant DIG Ranjith Perera has drawn heavy flak for threatening the media. His diatribe and threats must be condemned unreservedly. His grouse is that the STF’s role in the recent record cocaine bust was not highlighted. But, on no grounds can his action be justified. He ought to realise that the STF got eclipsed because Minister Ravi Karunanayake and President Maithirpala Sirisena hogged the limelight by rushing to the scene of the drug bust. more..

June 21 (PMD) Although there are certain apprehensions about the acts of commission and omission of the govt of good governance in some quarters, there seems to be universal agreement that the policies of President Maithripala Sirisena are the most suitable for the country. This is the view of not only the supporters of the regime but also the viewpoint of known critics as well as the renowned impartial analysts. The collective endorsement of the foreign policy of President Sirisena became more..

June 21 (CI) Shaminda Eranga has been discharged from hospital in Dublin after doctors found nothing unusual in the tests they had conducted on him, the Sri Lanka team management has said. Eranga had been taken to hospital when his heart-rate had spiked in the innings break of the second ODI against Ireland, and had been under observation for over 24 hours. Though his heartbeat had been recorded as high as 220 beats per minute, more..

June 21 (Island) Geethani Rajasekara who became the country's first female sprinter to qualify for an Olympic Marathon last year said that the 'Swarna Kirula' award she received from her alma mater, Ratnayake Central, Walala was a confidence booster ahead of the Rio Olympics. "I am honoured to receive this award. It is a great feeling to return to where it all began and be honoured," Rajasekara said. Marathoner Rajasekara, national men's polevault record holder Ishara Sandaruwan, more..

June 21 (ST) The PM, under attack in the past few weeks over his defence of the Central Bank (CB) Governor Arjuna Mahendran who is seeking a new, 5-year term, must be commended over a recent proposal to set up clear and transparent criteria in the selection of chairpersons and directors to boards of state companies. Laudable because no other leader, in the past, has installed such a selection process and, a welcome move because members of the public appointed to more..

June 21 (DN) Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne charged that a private hospital had fleeced the family of former Governor Alavi Moulana. “A private hospital had charged an exorbitant sum to admit him and when he passed away after two days had given his relatives a bill exceeding Rs. 900,000,” he added. Citing another incident, he said a private hospital had kept a body for seven days as the relatives had found it difficult to pay charges. more..

June 21 (DM) OIC of the Special Crimes Investigation unit of the Mount Lavinia Police has been arrested by the Commission to Investigate allegations of Bribery or Corruption yesterday for allegedly soliciting a bribe of Rs. 20,000 from a woman. Bribery Commission Director SSP Priyantha Chandrasiri said, the woman who was a resident of Kalubowila had lodged a complaint with the Mount Lavinia police against a man over a dispute relating to money. more..

June 21 (DN) Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), will be the Telecommunication Service Partner for Colombo Lotus Tower project. SLT and the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRCSL) recently signed a MoU with regard to the project. TRCSL, SLT and China National Electronics Import and Export Corporation (CEIEC) officials were present. Once completed, the Lotus Tower will stand at a total height of 350m, the tallest tower in South Asia, and will also act as a single transmission hub more..

June 21 (FT) Commissioners of the anti-corruption commission are preparing their final report on the alleged illegal firearms handling by Avant-Garde Maritime Services (AGMSL), sources said. PRECIFAC has already concluded the testifying of top Government officials of the previous Govt including former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, former Navy commanders and AGMSL Chairman Nissanka Senadipathi. more..

June 21 (DM) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe has given the best answer to those who want the Government not to re-appoint Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran, Minister of Akila Viraj Kariyawasam said. He was referring to media reports that the Prime Minister had assured civil society groups that Mr Mahendran would not be re-appointed till the investigations into the controversial CB bond scam has been concluded. “Mr. Mahendran will be dealt with if he it is proved that more..

June 21 (CT) Colombo Additional Magistrate postponed to 22 August the case filed by Bribery Commission against former Minister of Transport Kumara Welgama for having created a post of Vice Chairman at SLTB and causing an offence classified as 'corruption'. The Bribery Commission has charged in its case against the former Minister that he had created a portfolio of Vice Chairman at the SLTB for an individual identified as L.A. Wimalaratne and thereby causing the afore-mentioned wrongdoing. more..

June 21 (Island) Govt doctors warned they would protest outside Ministry of Education on Wednesday demanding schools for the children of some of their colleagues. Secretary of the Govt Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) Dr. Nalinda Herath said the protest would commence at 8 am. However he hoped that Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam would discuss the issue with them before that and resolve the matter amicably. more..

June 21 (AC) United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions now underway in Geneva gives another opportunity to Sri Lanka to trumpet the progress it is making on transitional justice. However, there is scant evidence of ‘progress’ on the ground because the government has either gone back, or done very little, to make good its pledges. Unless the international community calls Colombo’s bluff, victims of human rights violations cannot look forward either to justice or closure. more..

June 21 (Island) Acting on a tip-off, the Batticaloa police on Sunday (June 19) evening recovered four T-56 assault rifles, eight magazines and 210 bullets from a land at Old Panichcheni on the Kokuwil Road. The weapons and ammunition had been wrapped in polythene and placed in a gunny bag but they had been corroded, police said. Investigations revealed that some workers budding a house in the land had first come across the cache. Further investigations are being carried out. more..

June 21 (Island) The much awaited LG election could be conducted within two and a half months of receiving the final report of the Asoka Peiris Committee tasked with solving the problems arising from the report submitted by the National Delimitation Commission (NDC), Chairman of National Election Commission (NEC) Mahinda Deshapriya said. The Asoka Peiris Committee had informed NEC that it would submit its final report by Aug 31. more..

June 21 (FT) Minister Ravi Karunanayake has sent a letter of demand to UPFA MP Piyal Nishantha demanding compensation of Rs.2 billion for making a defamatory statement publicly against the minister on a television channel. The minister’s lawyers have sent the letter of demand to MP Piyal Nishantha recently to claim the damage. MP Piyal Nishantha has made this defamatory statement against Finance Minister while participating in a live political program Satana on Sirasa television. more..

June 21 (CT) The Foreign Affairs Ministry is conducting preliminary inquiries into verifying the citizenship of the 44 supposed Sri Lankan asylum-seekers who were stranded off the coast of Lhongka, Indonesia last Saturday (18). Acting Director General of the Ministry Satya Rodrigo speaking to Ceylon Today said that the Ministry and the Sri Lankan Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia are in the process of verifying whether the stranded asylum-seekers were Sri Lankan citizens. more..

June 21 (Reuters) The UN refugee agency called for access to a group of migrants believed to be from Sri Lanka, following a week-long standoff that saw their boat stranded off the coast of Indonesia. The boat carrying the 44 migrants, including women and children, was reportedly en route to Australia and had drifted into Indonesian waters near northern Aceh province on June 11 after encountering engine trouble. more..

June 21 (Yahoo) Kumar Sangakkara added another feather to his burgeoning cap on Monday, becoming only the second SL cricketer ever to record 19,000 runs in First-class cricket. Sangakkara has represented a number of sides including Central Province, Colombo District Cricket Association, Durham, Kandurata, Marylebone Cricket Club, NCC and Warwickshire in his illustrious career. Currently playing for Surrey, he reached the landmark in the ongoing match against Nottinghamshire. more..

June 21 (Island) National Elections Commission (NEC) asked the public to submit their duly completed applications to revise the electoral registers for the year 2016. NEC Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya said the electoral enumeration forms should have been received from the Grama Niladaris before June 14 and the completed forms should be submitted to the same official by July 15. Even those who lived in rented or leased houses could register, but they could not claim more..

June 21 (FT) Minister Champika Ranawaka became the latest top official to don gloves for govt’s economic agenda while launching his latest book, but called for greater transparency and consistency in policy making. The book titled Caution! Fiscal Cliff Ahead was described by Ranawaka as an essay written by him to enable the public to understand the significant economic challenges before the govt. more..

June 21 (CT) Fort Magistrate rejected a request made by Udaya Gammanpila's lawyers, to grant permission for the remanded PHU Leader to attend Parliament. Magistrate ordered the Counsels for the remanded MP to make submissions in this connection to the Director General of the Prisons Department. Counsels for MP Gammanpila, through a motion submitted to the Fort Magistrate, sought approval from the Court to enable the remanded MP to attend Parliament sessions. more..

June 21 (Island) The govt was pursuing Free Trade Agreements with Singapore and China, which it expected to formalise soon, PM Ranil Wickremesinghe says. Addressing a news conference, PM said he would discuss a free trade arrangement with his Singaporean counterpart during his visit to that country, scheduled for next month. Informed sources said that the pact was expected to include trade in goods, services, investment and govt procurement. more..

June 21 (FT) Continuing a strong pushback against controversial CB Governor Arjuna Mahendran, anti-corruption activists went to Court yesterday, seeking a legal order that will disqualify the Singaporean citizen from leading the country’s banking regulator. Anti-Corruption Front (ACF) filed a writ quo warranto, in the Court of Appeal last afternoon, to prevent Mahendran from continuing in office as more..

June 21 (DM) STF Commandant DIG Ranjith Perera’s outburst against the journalists apparently for not giving publicity as he wanted, for the role the STF played in the largest detection of cocaine in Sri Lanka last week was, no doubt, runs counter to the govet’s effort to paint a glowing picture before the international community on media freedom in the country. He threatened the journalists as his Task Force punishes the underworld criminals and insulted them saying that more..

June 21 (DM) Theoretically, policemen are custodians of the law and we have plenty of them around to do that job. However whether the upholding is done according to the letter or not is another matter. It is a question that has been bothering the people of this country for some time. Worse, the majority of people fearing strong-arm repercussions abandoned their rights in law. Not so long ago, the strong political hand in police business was subjected to silent public contempt. more..