Mar 26 (CT) Several former Chairmen of SLFP LG (Pradeshiya Sabha) bodies who have been summoned by the Party's Central Committee (CC), to explain their rejection of a CC decision on 29 March, say that they will not present themselves before the Committee for disciplinary action. Informed sources said that those who have been summoned by SLFP CC in writing such as former Mayor of Maharagama Kanthi Kodikara, more..

Mar 26 (DN) Mahanayake Thera of the Malwatte Chapter Most Ven. Thibottuwawe Sri Sumangala Thera, said that politicians should place the country above party politics and take the right decision to ensure the better future for the Sri Lankans. The Mahanayake Thera said the two main parties have received a golden opportunity to work unitedly to find a durable solution to the country's burning issues and this opportunity should be made use of for the benefit of the country. more..

Mar 26 (CI) A drubbing at the hands of West Indies, a sensational run chase against South Africa, and a nerve-jangling finish against Afghanistan - England have perhaps had the most interesting campaign in Group 1, and they haven't even had their customary big-tournament meltdown yet. There is a chance they will not have a meltdown at all. Eoin Morgan leads a side that has a little steel to it, which perhaps has not been the case in previous England sides. They have withstood onslaughts, and more..

Mar 26 (NS) Chairman, COPE, Parliamentarian, Sunil Handunnetti said the officials of CEB and the Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy were yet to draw up strategies to avoid future power crisis. In an interview with Nation, Handunnetti stated the officials were given an ultimatum of two months to formulate a strategic plan. Q: The COPE summoned officials of the CEB and the Ministry on March 24. more..

Mar 26 (DM) The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said sea water had seeped into the rivers in the Kalutara and Matara Districts due to the prevailing dry weather. A DMC spokesman said this is caused by the reduction of water levels in the rivers. The flow of river water into the sea comes to a standstill and the process is reversed with the reduced water levels in rivers. The DMC has made arrangements to supply drinking water to people in the affected areas. more..

Mar 26 (SLN) Under the concept of President Maithripala Sirisena, steps have been taken to hand over the land deeds in Northern and Eastern provinces which were held under the control of Government security forces thus far. Going by that concept, the official handing over of 177 acres of land to the Governor of the Eastern Province Hon. Austin Fernando, came about today in Sampoor with the idea of redistributing those land among their legitimate owners. more..

Mar 26 (DN) Defending World T20 champs face their moment of truth as they take on England in a Group 1 match at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground here on Saturday which is crucial for their survival for the rest of the tournament. Sri Lanka has one win and one loss from two games and they will need to win against England as well as South Africa on Monday at the same venue to qualify for the knockout stage. more..

Mar 26 (PTI) Senior SL batsman Dinesh Chandimal admitted Friday that his side cannot always use transition phase as an excuse for the team not doing well in recent times. Ahead of their World T20 cricket match against England, Chandimal blamed on inexperience of middle-order for their inconsistent performances of late but he added that players need to put their hands up and perform. “You cannot always say transition. We need to put our hands up. We will give our best shot in the next game,” more..

Mar 26 (DC) Even seven years after the end of civil war in Sri Lanka, refugees continue to remain camps in the State, as conditions have not changed much in their homeland. Though TN is considered a State that had worked for the welfare of Tamil refugees, little had been done to provide a dignified life to the refugees, it is alleged. Representatives from various camps presented a memorandum to Tarun Vijay, BJP MP, who paid a visit to the city. Living in congested places and having trouble with more..

Mar 26 (NS) Technicians from a German manufacturer of transformer components who arrived in Sri Lanka have not ruled out the possibility that tap changers in transformers at the Biyagama and Kotugoda had been physically tampered with as such cannot explode in the way it had exploded considering the auto-operation of the tap changers, authoritative sources disclosed. They said all transformers countrywide were monitored more..

Mar 26 (CT) Three members of the same family belonging to the Vedi Community in Inginiyagala, in the Ampara district, were hospitalized on Wednesday night, after injuries sustained in a scuffle during an alleged disagreement between the Police and the Vedi Community. According to the Police, the Leader of the Vedda Community in Rathugala stated that several officers of the Rathmalgaha Ella Police Post attacked them. Leader, Suda Wannila Aththan, his wife and 11 year old son more..

Mar 26 (Hindu) There are no Islamist jihadist groups in Sri Lanka, said a study commissioned by the Colombo-based International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES). The study had gone into an accusation, made both from within and outside the Muslim community in recent years, that a “jihadist” movement was being formed in the Eastern province, where Muslims constitute around 37% the population. Muslims account for 9.67% of country’s population, according to 2012 census, more..

Mar 26 (DM) The CEB has curtailed hydro power generation at some of the plants because of the the prevailing dry spell but will not lead to constant power cuts, Chairman Anura Wijepala said. He said consumers need not panic because the CEB was capable of providing an uninterrupted power supply. Mr. Wijepala said the drought which is wreaking havoc in the country has drastically reduced the water levels in almost all more..

Mar 26 (CT) It is quite evident that the name cricket has derived from the Middle Dutch phrase for hockey, met de krikketsen, which means with the stick, chase. The hockey stick and earliest cricket bats were similar too with curved ends. Cricket became a serious undertaking when the privileged classes of English villages began playing it in their leisure time on village greens that turned into cricket fields for that purpose. When the heads of each village started having their own teams, more..

Mar 26 (DM) The govt appears to be indulging in some revolutionary new thinking which is heartening; it is indeed time we took stock of our important state institutions such as Foreign Affairs Ministry which was established sixty years ago and see whether they should be restructured to meet the challenges we face in the world of today. Ministry of Foreign Affairs must be restructured to further strengthen our foreign relations and to advance its role to promote not only our security but more..

Mar 26 (CI) Of late, it seems India play Sri Lanka in some form of cricket just about every other month. These matches, especially one-dayers, have little charm and no one really remembers anything much about them. Sri Lankan cricketers have suffered from over-exposure in India, which is such a pity when you think of the soft caress of Mahela Jayawardene's strokeplay or the elegance of Kumar Sangakkara, to mention more..

Mar 26 (SL) Deputy Minister Eran Wickramaratne said the govt is in the process of restructuring the state owned institutions and boosting its management skill levels. He said that the restructuring process cannot be done overnight, adding that the govt is in the process of creating the principles. He added that there is no specific plan for the restructuring process but each institution will be evaluated individually and the restructuring more..

Mar 26 (ST) This week’s power cuts drew angry reactions from the public, with some saying officials should take more responsibility to ensure regular electricity supply is maintained. Niroshan Kumara, 20, engineering student: “We depend on this sole grid. Even if there is a minute’s fault somewhere the entire system goes down and everybody is affected. Why didn’t they have any backup system? more..

Mar 26 (Island) Foreign investors in Sri Lanka rupee securities has sold US$ 330 million worth bonds in March, with 17.6 billion rupees (US$ 121 million) being sold in the week to March 21. Foreign investors have sold US$ 577 million of rupee bonds (83 billion rupees) so far this year. Foreign investors started to exit the market rapidly after a rate cut in April as domestic credit picked up and the budget deficit deteriorated more..

Mar 26 (Island) GMOA President Dr Anuruddha Padeniya has warned that the signing of the Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) with India will be inimical to Sri Lanka’s interests. Dr. Padeniya, addressing a gathering of scholars, intellectuals and professionals in Colombo on Wednesday said: "The agreement is clearly a political one and the architects of it are not patriots. If they are patriots they will not even imagine more..

Mar 26 (DN) An estimated income of Rs. 900 billion is expected to be collected by the end of this year and collection of taxes has increased by 122% in 2015 as against the corresponding period in 2014, Finance Ministry Secretary Dr. R.M.S. Samaratunga said. Inland Revenue Department collected a tax income of Rs. 512 billion in 2015 and efforts are being made by department officials led by Commissioner General of Inland Revenue more..

Mar 26 (Island) Former Agriculture Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardene lashed out at Agriculture Minister Duminda Dissanayake over the latter’s decision to reduce the paddy production in the country to ensure good prices for paddy. Minister Dissanayake said at a meeting in Anuradhapura that the paddy cultivation should be reduced and farmers should be guided to grow more supplementary crops. more..

Mar 26 (Island) Copies of the draft code of ethics for MPs would be circulated among the party leaders next week for their perusal and comments. Speaker Karu Jayasuriya has instructed Acting Secretary General of Parliament Neil Iddawela to circulate copies the draft Code of Ethics prepared by the office of the Secretary General of Parliament. Introduction of the Code of Ethics for the MPs has been under discussion for some time now more..

Mar 26 (Island) The JVP accused the govt of wheeling and dealing with those accused of corruption to ensure its political survival. JVP MP Vijitha Herath said that investigations launched by the CIABOC and the FCID had been put on hold as the govt had entered into deals with the accused. "We have furnished ample evidence to prove the frauds and corruptio the bigwigs of the previous regime were involved in. more..

Mar 26 (DN) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe has decided to bring under his direct supervision the Ministries and key public institutions which had failed to achieve the stipulated targets within the first quarter of this year and which were subjected to bureaucracy during the Rajapaksa regime. PM has taken this decision following complaints that the work of some ministries and many public institutions are not in line with more..

Mar 26 (CT) Capacity building workshops for farmers of the Trincomalee district on climate change adaptation for agriculture, through the implementation of toxin free, organic farming and crop diversification was held 23rd March, 2016, in Padavishripura and Morawewa. The workshops were organized by SLYCAN Trust in partnership with the Nagenahiru Development Society as part of a programme to educate the farmers on the impacts of climate change to the agricultural sector, more..

Mar 26 (Island) Minister Arjuna Ranatunga has demanded that SLFP members who attended the recent Joint Opposition rally at Hyde Park in Colombo be sacked from the party. Minister Ranatunga told journalists after an inspection tour of the Magampura Port in Hambantota that President Maithripala Sirisena had given unbridled freedom to SLFP members. "There is a group within the SLFP who abuse that freedom and democracy. They go on instigating people and rousing racism. more..

Mar 26 (EN) Sri Lanka’s tea export shipments and local currency earnings rose slightly in February 2016 from a year ago but fell in US dollar terms, brokers said. Asia Siyaka Commodities said its analysis of Sri Lanka Customs data indicates exports for February rose to 23.6 million kilos, a marginal increase on the 23.5 million kilos shipped the previous year. In rupee terms the value of exports rose to 14.5 billion rupees from 14.4 billion rupees in February 2015. more..

Mar 26 (CT) The word in the local streets is heat, and it comes with blackouts, unannounced power cuts, sabotage-claims and incompetence. The word in the global streets is actually a proper noun: Brussels. A few days ago, more than 30 people were killed and dozens injured in attacks at the Brussels international airport and a city metro station. Maybe it is because such attacks are a rarity in Europe (compared to other parts of the word), we don’t know, but the Western press more..

Mar 26 (CT) HIV/AIDS and how it is spread became a hotly debated topic in Sri Lanka recently, when an entire village in Kuliyapitiya rose up against a child – whose parents were allegedly carrying the virus –being admitted to the village school, in fear of other children contracting the virus. Many started blaming the Family Planning Association (FPA), organization tasked with disseminating awareness to the public, more..

Mar 26 (CI) New Zealand completed the group stage of the World T20 with a clean slate, and in some style. Signature style too, as they adjusted themselves to a slow and low pitch. An example of that was how their of 145 for 8 was more than double that Bangladesh could manage. Kane Williamson's crew were playing in their fourth venue, but looked right at home. They picked three spinners on a very dry surface and their batsmen were careful not to overreach. more..

Mar 26 (Island) Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka who was appointed the Minister of Provincial Development has got additional portfolios, National Agriculture and Diversification and Human Settlement Authority (Hadabima). His Ministry is also tasked with the implementation of development projects in Nuwara Eliya, Badulla, Kandy, Matale, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Ampara, Anuradhapura and Polnnaruwa Districts. President had intervened to assign additional responsibilities more..

Mar 26 (AD) The Police Narcotics Bureau has arrested a person transporting 5kg of heroin in a three-wheeler at Welisara, Ragama. The suspect, a resident of Colombo 14, was arrested following an operation carried out last night and will be produced at the Mahara Magistrate’s Court today. Meanwhile in a separate operation one of the chief suspects in large scale drug racket operating in the Southern Province has been taken into more..

Mar 26 (Island) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe says that recent attacks by Islamic State terrorists in Brussels have highlighted the need for an urgent dialogue on terrorism that must include steps to address the problem effectively. In a letter addressed to Charles Michel, PM of the Kingdom of Belgium, Premier Wickremesinghe said: I am deeply saddened and shocked by the recent terror attacks that took place in Brussels, resulting in a shocking loss of life and injury. more..

Mar 26 (SL) The Ministry of Health is yet to take disciplinary action against Provincial Director Health Services, Central Province, for allegedly misleading the Public Service Commission (PSC) for personal gain despite the latter’s continuous requests to the Health Ministry to conduct an inquiry. Provincial Director Health Services, Central Province, Dr. K. M. Shanthilatha Fathima Samarasinghe is alleged to have misled the PSC deliberately on two occasions. In 2005 Dr. Samarasinghe submitted false more..

Mar 26 (CG) The UNP is to formulate a new party constitution after September. The UNP will celebrate its 70th anniversary in September following which a new constitution for the party will be introduced. Sources also said that party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has decided to give a more prominent place for second and third level leaders in the party. Wickremesinghe is of the view that second and third level leaders must be groomed to more..

Mar 26 (AM) The National University Teachers Association Secretary Channa Jayasumana called on the govt to reach to an agreement with India on the illegal fishing in Sri Lankan waters, before commencing discussions on the proposed ETCA. Speaking at the rally against ETCA at Hyde Park yesterday, he also called on the government to reveal the true reasons as to why it cannot cancel the planned ETCA with India, despite the continuous protests by the professionals of the country. more..

Mar 26 (ST) Parliamentarians across the board feted Kalakeerthi Wimal Wickrama Surendra, the man whose creations adorn the interior of the Parliament Chamber and who is also credited with sculpting the design on the impressive silver plated door at the main entrance leading to the Parliament Chamber. Speaker Karu Jayasuirya invited Mr. Surendra as a special guest earlier this month and introduced him to the MPs with an announcement from the Chair, bringing to their attention more..

Mar 26 (ENS) TNA chief R.Sampanthan has said that he will discuss with the Indian High Commission the substantial environmental problems that will be created if India sets up a 500 MW coal-fired power plant at Sampur. “The people of the area have been telling me about the substantial pollution and environmental damage which will be caused and have accused me of not taking any action on it. more..