Mar 11 (Island) The proposed Rs. 2,500 salary increase to private sector workers will be restricted to those currently receiving less than Rs. 40,000. According to a Bill that will be presented in parliament today, of the proposed Rs 2,500, Rs. 1,500 will be paid with effect from May 1, 2015 and the remaining Rs. 1,000 from Jan. 1, 2016. Labour and Trade Union Relations Ministry official said that private sector workers more..

Mar 11 (ENS) President Maithripala Sirisena had opted out of Sri Sri Ravishankar’s World Culture Festival on the floodplains of the Yamuna, long before the outbreak of the controversy over its environmental impact, a top source in Lankan Presidential Secretariat said. “When Indian Minister Sushma Swaraj met the President here on Feb 6, she had invited him to attend the festival. President told her that he would be very tied up with work and declined the invitation. more..

Mar 11 (CT) UPFA appointed Hambantota District MP and Fisheries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera as its third General Secretary filling the position that fell vacant after the demise of Prof. Wishwa Warnapala. Born in a remote village called Udayala in Angunukolapelassa in the outskirts of the Hambantota District, Amaraweera received his primary education at Angunukolapalessa primary school and secondary education at Vijitha Central College, Dikwella. more..

Mar 11 (LBO) The marginal profit received from selling diesel is not sufficient to cover the 13.2 billion rupee loss incurred by the CPC in the first eleven months of 2015, Minister Chandima Weerakkody said. He told Parliament that based on last December prices the state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation and Lanka IOC is currently making a profit of 17.13 rupees from a litre of diesel. more..

Mar 11 (SLC) Oshadi Ranasinghe’s four-wicket haul, including a hat-trick was the highlight of Sri Lanka Women’s five-wicket win over Bangladesh Women in the second warm up match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. Ranasinghe dismissed Jahanara Alam, Panna Ghosh and Khadija Tul Kubra in consecutive deliveries of the 20th over to help dismiss Bangladesh for 95, before Shashikala Siriwadene wrapped up the chase with 1.5 overs to spare. more..

Mar 11 (Island) Deputy Speaker Thilanga Sumathipala yesterday said he would order a probe to find out why Wi-fi was not available in Parliament and the reason for the discontinuation of the live telecast of parliamentary proceedings on the digital screen at the Jayanthipura car park. He said so after Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake raising a point of order complained that Wi-fi in the parliament building was not working. He said that he would look into the matter and take remedial action. more..

Mar 11 (Yonhap) Sri Lanka expressed hope Friday that it would be able to send more workers to South Korea as the two countries develop their ties in a wide range of fields. SL Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera and country's minister of foreign employment promotion and welfare, Thalatha Atukorale, delivered the message during talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se in Seoul. more..

Mar 11 (CT) Govt has taken steps to have a new draft law formulated by the eminent members of the National Law Commission and this has recently been handed over to the Ministry of Justice. We want to make sure that the draft legislation also is in line. We want to repeal the PTA but replace it with new legislation in keeping with international best practise. Honourable Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Sampanthan has raised several important questions in this adjournment motion debated more..

Mar 11 (Island) Sri Lanka Centre for Human Rights and Research urged the govt to grant dual citizenship to the leader of the Frontline Socialist Party Kumar Gunaratnam, being held, on a charge of violating immigration and emigration laws. Executive Director of CHRR, Keerthi Tennakoon said Gunaratnam was in the Kegalle remand Prison for over 100 days. "It is not an issue of the immigration and emigration law. The govt is harassing him over a political issue," he said. more..

Mar 11 (DM) Five burnt bodies of unidentified individuals were found inside a van from Buthgampola, Dankotuwa this morning, police said. Police found these bodies after a call to 119 police emergency telephone number. Dankotuwa Police officers had located the vehicle based on information received via the police emergency hotline service. The investigation has been handed over to the CID by IGP N.K. Illangakoon. more..

Mar 11 (EN) India will give a US$ 700 million swap to Sri Lanka to help boost forex reserves until an International Monetary Fund policy package stabilizes the economy, an Indian govt statement said. India's cabinet of ministers had given the nod for a 'special currency swap' of US$ 700 million to Sri Lanka. The US$ 700 million swap line will be available for Sri Lanka for three months or "till the time Sri Lanka avails the IMF facility whichever is earlier." more..

Mar 11 (Island) No complaints had been made with regard to abducting media personnel in white vans during the second term in office of President Mahinda Rajapaksa from 26.01.2010 to 08.01.2015, Parliament was told yesterday. A document tabled by Parliament Reforms and Mass Media Minister Gayantha Karunathilaka in response to a question raised by UPFA MP Udaya Gammanpila said there had been no complaints of abductions of media persons during that period. more..

Mar 11 (DM) The second Google loon balloon is to be released during the Yowunpuraya youth festival which is to be held from March 31 to April 3 in Sigiriya, Minister Harin Fernando said. He said he hoped to release this balloon in front of 5,000 of youth and media personnel at Yowunpuraya festival and at that event their would be a brief explanation on the Google loon could achieve and its’ operating process. more..

Mar 11 (LBO) The cabinet approval has been obtained to implement an electronic charging system through prepaid cards. The project will be implemented with the cooperation of ICTA, Transport Board, National Transport Commission, private bus owners, public banks and IT companies. The main positive feature of electronic charging system is its ability to charge the fixed fee from the passenger and to direct the due income to the bus owners very accurately. more..

Mar 11 (EN) Sri Lanka still does not have enough women on company boards of directors despite their high level of participation in public service and academia. The lack of female representation in leadership roles in the corporate sector was pointed out by Ramani Muttettuwegama, Senior Partner at Tiruchelvam Associates at the Colombo Stock Exchange’s Ring the Bell for Gender Equality event. She urged corporates to empower and recognize women for their contribution, more..

Mar 11 (DM) Wildlife Department said the number of accidents within the Yala National Park had decreased during the past few months after the regulations to minimize road accidents and punishment to reckless drivers were strictly implemented. New regulations were imposed after several incidents of wild animals including leopards being killed by speeding vehicles were reported in Yala National Park. more..

Mar 11 (CG) Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to Canada Ahmed Jawad met with Geoff Regan, Speaker of the House of Commons and discussed opportunities for further developing cooperation between the Sri Lankan and Canadian Members of Parliament (MP), SL High Commission in Canada said. The deeply strained relations between Sri Lanka and Canada were given a fresh start following talks between President Sirisena and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau in Malta last year. more..

Mar 11 (Reuters) Sri Lanka and Pakistan must overcome batting inconsistency if they are to leave India with a second World Twenty20 title, with both sides coming into the tournament on the back of uninspiring performances at the Asia Cup. Defending World Twenty20 champions Sri Lanka, who were also runners-up in 2009 and 2012, bid adieu to batting stalwarts Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara from the format after their 2014 triumph and have yet to fill the void. more..

Mar 11 (PSL) A walk organized to mark the World Glaucoma Week under the theme Beat Invisible Glaucoma held under the patronage of President Maithripala Sirisena, today. The walk was organized by the National Eye Hospital and it commenced from Vihara Mahadevi Park and proceeded back to the Eye Hospital Junction. Deputy Health Minister Faizal Cassim, Director of the National Eye Hospital, more..

Mar 11 (Haveeru) Authorities in Sri Lanka have arrested two Maldivians for allegedly blackmailing a Maldivian couple using compromising pictures they had taken on a visit to the neighbouring island nation. Haveeru understands that the two men had forcefully obtained money from the victim and his wife after publishing one of the photos on the internet. The couple had been promised that the photo would be taken offline and that no more photos would published. more..

Mar 11 (EN) Euronews spoke at Berlin’s ITB to John Amaratunga, Sri Lanka Minister of Tourism, about how Sri Lanka tries to unfold its full potential as a tourist destination. Diversity is what we can offer, it is not just the beach or the elephant, there is so much else that a tourist visiting Sri Lanka can enjoy. And we realize now our numbers are increasing, the demand for Sri Lanka is day-by-day increasing. The fact remains that we are now advertising and getting the world to know what a tourist more..

Mar 11 (GDI) A series of recently concluded high level meetings between visiting SL’s Minister of Industry and Commerce and the ruling monarch of the Kingdom of Bahrain have ushered a fresh renewal of ties between both countries. Minister Rishad Bathiudeen who visited the Kingdom of Bahrain in early February succeeded in taking the message of Sri Lanka’s transformation not only with the Bahraini business sector but more..

Mar 12 (DM) President Maithripala Sirisena, who handled his SLFP with a somewhat passive attitude since he was appointed the leader of the party soon after the last Presidential election in January 2015, seems to have taken up the cudgels now against his opponents within the party in order to consolidate his position in it. It is like a plot of a Tamil film or a Gamini Fonseka’s film in which the hero would be thrashed by the villain until he was almost dead, but would finally enthrall more..

Mar 12 (CT) Tamils who once ruled the entire country, later ruled the Jaffna Kingdom and eventually lost it to European colonial invaders 114 years after the Sinhalese lost theirs. The 1948 Ceylon independence opened the door to the loss of language rights; land ownership rights, employment rights and more. Earlier the first blow fell on the plantation Tamils depriving them of their citizenship and voting rights and thereby reducing Tamil representation in parliament by eliminating more..

Mar 12 (CT) Visiting the child who was shunned and discriminated against by an entire village in Kuliyapitiya was not a media show, Deputy Minister Ranjan Ramanayake told Ceylon Today during an interview. The deputy minister also said President Maithripala Sirisena has asked several key persons in his govt to visit the child but no one had the guts to get involved in an issue which has caused much controversy. more..

Mar 12 (NS) The recent spate of killings in the city has prompted the President to order the Police to eliminate the underworld with the support of the Army where it is necessary. Though it sounds timely and a welcome decision, it should not be forgotten that this is not the first time such decisions have been taken to demolish the underworld. The issue has come up from time to time under different Presidents and different administrations in the past several decades. more..

Mar 12 (NS) It was quite obvious that the UPFA coalition comfortably settled in the saddle of power for over a decade was in serious trouble ever since the party stalwart Maithripala Sirisena broke ranks with it to contest the Jan 8, 2014 Presidential poll as the common opposition candidate. Sirisena’s defection which remained a dead secret until the last minute led to a rush of changes in the country’s political compass. Developments and the events that played out subsequently more..

Mar 12 (NS) The TNA appointed a committee to draft a set of proposals to solve the ethnic question through the proposed Constitutional reforms. Nation spoke to General Secretary of the TNA and Leader of the ITAK, Mavai Senathirajah on the progress made by the alliance on drafting the said proposals. In addition, he also spoke on criticisms faced by the Alliance on not being transparent of its approach. more..

Mar 12 (Island) Never a dull day in Parliament! Something dramatic happens whenever it meets. PM Ranil Wickremesinghe told the House on Wednesday that 150 kilos of gold had been seized from the LTTE during the war and 40 kilos of that stock had gone missing. The army had, in its custody 80 kilos of gold, and another 30 kilos had been handed over to the Central Bank, he said. The gold stock is said to consist of personal items like bangles, necklaces and bracelets. more..

Mar 12 (Island) Just when President Sirisena is beginning to celebrate increased control over his political party, SLFP, there are signs that its coalition partner, UNP, is sending out a bigger image than all the efforts of the SLFP publicists. Now what makes you say that? Sirisena has removed 22 SLFP electoral organizers, from the Hamban Alliance, and he has also appointed his own man, from Hambantota at that, as UPFA Secretary. Can there be a bigger message than that? more..

Mar 12 (CT) Reports of a series of killings attributed to underworld elements have sent shockwaves amongst all Sri Lankans, whether living in Sri Lanka or outside. Almost everyone was speculating as to what these killings aimed to achieve. Some thought the killings were mainly directed towards witnesses of serious crimes being investigated, or already brought to court. There was also speculation that the rise of the underworld could lead to further crimes, including attacks by various political more..

Mar 12 (DM) My mind started debating with itself after reading the thought provoking piece by our senior and most respected colleague Latheef Farooq that referred in detail to my previous column in the Daily Mirror on the harmony between Sinhala Buddhists and Muslims. In fact two particular recent incidents, specifically from the Sinhala Buddhist side, prompted me to add these thoughts to the deliberation with Mr. Latheef. Before getting into those two incidents let me comment on more..

Mar 12 (CT) The family of Waseem Thajudeen kept silent and maintained a low profile for four years bearing the sorrow resulting from the loss of an amiable relation. They have now understood that it is injustice to their kinsman who was brutally murdered and Waseem's elder sister Aisha, a dentist eventually gave in to our persuasion to speak about her affectionate younger brother. This is how she expressed feelings more..

Mar 12 (FT) Sri Lanka’s traditional exports must also feature prominently in trade expansion deals for the country to competently leverage its advantages in future agreements, a top researcher said. Govt should consider including competitive sectors of the economy such as apparel and tea as the usefulness of a trade agreement largely depends on competitive export products as well as its market liberalisation, argued Verite Research Economist Subhashini Abeysinghe at SAARC Entrepreneurs Forum more..

Mar 12 (Island) The political stability that SL enjoyed for a brief five years after the conclusion of the civil conflict in 2009 accelerated economic development and social progress in a nationally secure, peaceful environment. Of the tangible economic development achieved there was statistical proof; Sri Lanka reached middle income country status. To anyone who looked on the social scene with an unprejudiced mind it was obvious that the general lot of the masses was steadily improving; more..

Mar 12 (Hindu) Chaminda Vaas may have put on Irish colours in his role of a bowling consultant for the European team, but his heart still beats for Sri Lanka, which is going through a lean phase at the moment. 42-year-old — who served Sri Lanka with distinction for 15 years capturing more than 750 international wickets and was part of the best phase of the country’s cricketing journey including the 1996 World Cup win — more..

Mar 12 (CT) SL Naval patrol boats yesterday nabbed over 20 local fishermen in two separate incidents for engaging in illegal fishing methods, a Police media source said. The Sri Lanka Navy's 'Barana' personnel arrested three of them in one incident and took possession of their boat and banned fishing nets just offshore of Kolankanaththa and Wellamundalam. Naval patrol craft 'Vijaya' prowling the waters off Baththalangunduwa in Kalpitiya arrested another 15 fishermen for more..

Mar 12 (ST) Last week ICC rekindled the controversy over its radical proposal that would see Test cricket split into two divisions within a structure to promote and relegate member-nations, and make avenues for two new Test-playing nations to emerge. It is said that the new proposal is aimed at bolstering the appeal of international cricket and being promoted by its CEO, David Richardson, who is exploring a number of options that would provide greater context to all 3 formats of the game more..

Mar 12 (MO) The former doctor who is behind bars for killing her husband with a sledge hammer as he slept is 'terrified' of being deported to Sri Lanka and fears for her life, according to a friend. Charmaine Trezona, said her best friend, Chamari Liyanage, 35, of Geraldton, West Australia, who is serving a four-year jail term for killing her sexually abusive husband, is afraid of being deported to the patriarchal country. more..