May 5 (CT) Executive Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) will commence a fresh investigation into the scandal involving India's Suresh Raina entertaining a woman, who had been linked to a bookie at a hotel in Kandalama, during India's visit to SL for the 2010 Asia Cup, Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera told Parliament. Minister responding to a question raised by MP S.M. Marikkar, said the incident which was placed under a cloud of more..

May 5 (CT) The special CID team which is conducting investigations into the brawl which took place in Parliament has recorded statements from MPs who had been eyewitness to the fracas. A senior Police source told this newspaper that the special CID team had sought Speaker Karu Jayasuriya's assistance to carry out further investigations into the brawl. He said the initial investigation report on the incident will be handed over to the Speaker later today. more..

May 5 (EN) Sri Lanka is planning to float a $500 million syndicated loan shortly, which will be arranged by at least four banks, a media report said. Citi, Emirates NBD, HSBC and Mashreq Bank are expected to be mandated shortly to arrange a three-year term loan that will be repaid in instalments, citing sources close to the deal. Sri Lanka has struck a preliminary deal with the IMF, which is expected to come into effect in June after some essential prior actions that are needed to make sure that more..

May 5 (FT) Shaken by the $ 81 m Bangladesh bank heist, Sri Lanka called for global regulatory institutions to eradicate any chance of theft and welcomed efforts by member nations of Asian Development Bank (ADB) to make international money transfers safer. Minister Ravi Karunanayake delivering SL’s statement at the ADB Governors’ meeting at the global lender’s Annual Meeting in Frankfurt insisted that digital more..

May 5 (FT) Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) announced a revision in the methodology of calculating Price Multiples (P/E, P/BV and DY). The Price-Earnings Ratio (P/E Ratio) and Dividend Yield Ratio (DY) will be calculated taking into consideration Rolling Four Quarterly Earnings instead of the current practice of sourcing earnings from the annual results of respective listed companies. The Price to Book Value Ratio (P/BV) will now be calculated based on the latest more..

May 5 (FT) All political parties under the Western Provincial Council have collectively refused the federal proposal of Northern Province CM C.V. Wigneswaran by passing another opposing proposal, said Western Province Chief Minister Isuru Devapriya. He said their proposal has been already handed over to the President and the PM as well as the NP Governor. “Any political party of the Western Province or the Govt couldn’t admit Wigneswaran’s proposal for a federal solution. more..

May 5 (DM) The importing of vehicles to the country will be suspended for six months due to the present currency fluctuation, Vehicle Importers’ Association President Indika Merenchige said. “The cost of used and brand new vehicles that are imported from Japan had gone up drastically due to the deprecation of SL Rupee against Japanese Yen,” he said. “But if anyone still wants to import vehicles they may do so, more..

May 5 (DN) Major-General Sumith Manawadu sustained life threatening injuries after a wooden beam suddenly collapsed on him at a construction site. He was admitted to Colombo National Hospital. This incident occurred at Major-General Manawadu’s private property in Old Kasbewa Road, Delkanda. The incident had occurred at around 6.40 am yesterday. The wooden beam had fallen on his head while he was inspecting construction work at the site. He was immediately rushed to more..

May 5 (DN) Young leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay was forced to be left out of the tour squad to England after be broke a finger during practice said chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya. “Vandersay was struck a blow on his bowling hand attempting to take a return catch during the practice match at Khettarama and suffered a broken finger,” he said. “He broke the bone of his third right finger and it had to be operated and fixed. He will be out of action for at least two months. more..

May 5 (ENS) As part of its policy to relieve the army from civilian and internal policing duties, Maithripala Sirisena govt has taken the army off VVIP security duties and has given the task entirely to the police, especially the police commandos designated as the STF. But the decision to replace the army ran into a political storm when, recently, govt withdrew the last 50 of the 102 army personnel who were guarding former Prez Rajapaksa. more..

May 5 (ITN) PM Ranil Wickremasinghe has said that Sri Lanka’s Deputy High Commissioner in Chennai has been given the authority to provide birth certificates to children of refugee families that had gone to India after 1983. The PM was responding to a query raised by MP Douglas Devananda. The PM said that according to the Govt policy, citizenship is being granted to citizens of Sri Lanka who had gone to India and other countries after 1983. Some had secured citizenship of other countries more..

May 5 (FT) In the backdrop of the Govt’s successful attempt to lift the European Union (EU) fisheries ban, a top team of officials from Sri Lanka is now scheduled to depart for Brussels for decisive talks on the matter, a top official said. The Delegation of the European Union to Sri Lanka and Maldives Political, Trade and Communications Section Deputy Head Roshan Lyman told the Daily FT that the Lankan team leaving next week is set to be headed by the Department of Commerce (DOC) more..

May 5 (DN) The report submitted by the two-member committee on the clash in Parliament on Tuesday has recommended taking stern disciplinary action against Deputy Minister Palitha Thewarapperuma and UPFA rebel group MP Prasanna Ranaweera. The report was handed over to Speaker Karu Jayasuriya by Deputy Speaker Thilanga Sumathipala and Deputy Chairman of Committees S. Addaikkalanathan yesterday. more..

May 5 (DM) In the highest tradition of democracy Parliament is, or is expected to be, the supreme legislative assembly of the sovereign people. Noble and wonderful words indeed. But on Tuesday in this same Parliament, a public brawl took place with some MPs allegedly behaving like street thugs or hooligans. Following the brawl the UNF’s Kegalle District MP Sandith Samarasinghe was taken by an ambulance to the National Hospital on Tuesday afternoon and he was discharged yesterday. more..

May 5 (DM) Crowds do not mean much at May Day rallies but MP’s on stage read the minds of the voters. An elected-not a nominated-MP sits at a rally where his constituents want to vote for him. A snapshot of a difference between the North and South. One thing is for sure –the peoples’ outlook has changed for the better but not of politicians who would publicly posture for an extra vote. People blame politicians and vow to teach them a lesson, but keep voting for them again & again more..

May 5 (FT) Joint Opposition bigwig and SLFP Vice President Kumar Welgama descrbes what led to Tuesday's pandemonium in Parliament, why President Sirisena's life is not under threat and the success of the Kirulapone May Day rally. Q: Can you describe what happened in Parliament on Tuesday? A: MP Dinesh Gunawardena raised the issue regarding the former President’s military security being replaced more..

May 5 (DM) While admitting that Mass Media and Parliamentary Affairs Ministry Secretary Nimal Bopage's statement on the joint opposition was a blunder, Deputy Minister Karunaratne Paranawithana appealed to the media to desist from creating a furor over it. He said a ministry secretary did not have the authority to issue statements on a personnel view and that the mistake was further aggravated because more..

May 5 (SL) We in Sri Lanka are going through an exciting period in our history and in the arena of Human Rights and Democracy. Many of the problems faced in our areas are shared by the countries of the Asia and Pacific. An year after a paradigm shift in democracy and human rights in our country, we live in an era where the hopes and fears of different peoplesare coming into play. There are many challenges ahead in Human Rights and more..

May 5 (ST) A controversial deal between the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) and a Dubai-based insurance company to provide additional insurance cover to Sri Lankan migrant workers has put the country’s West Asian job market in jeopardy. The bad news could not have come to the Govt at a worse time with the country facing a foreign exchange crisis while the West Asian job market is shrinking due to more..

May 5 (Island) The govt said yesterday that a group of MPs led by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was trying to revive terrorism in the country by terrorising Parliament. Minister Rajitha Senaratne said that the Rajapaksa Faction of the UPFA had behaved in that manner on Tuesday because they could not stomach Minister Sarath Fonseka telling them that STF security was sufficient for their leader. more..

May 5 (EN) A deal with the IMF would boost foreign reserves, but tax collections and smaller budget deficit targets may not be easy to achieve, given Sri Lanka's past record, Moody's a rating agency said. The govt has already raised value added taxes as part of prior actions pending the approval of the deal by IMF's board. "However, we expect bumps in the sovereign’s fiscal consolidation path because of difficulties in implementing more..

May 5 (Island) The Joint Opposition said removing the army commandos from former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s security contingent posed a major threat to his life, while several moves had been made to revive LTTE activities. Former External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris said the govt should reveal the reason for removing commandos from the former President’s security squad. more..

May 5 (Island) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe has received assurances from both the police and the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) that the LTTE had been wiped out; therefore there was absolutely no likelihood of the group staging a comeback. Premier said that he sought clarification from the police and the DMI in the wake of recent media reports in respect of resurgence of LTTE activity. more..

May 5 (AD) Leader of the JHU, Ven. Omalpe Sobitha Thero, slammed the insufficient response from the country’s responsible leaders regarding the resolution adopted at the Northern Provincial Council for a federal solution, which he termed as a grave situation. He stated that while the Western Provincial Council had adopted a resolution against the NPC resolution the rest of the Provincial Councils have shown no similar backbone. more..

May 5 (PMD) War Heroes Commemoration Month was ceremonially declared open with pinning of the first Ranaviru (War Hero) Flag on President Maithripala Sirisena at a function held today. Govt annually celebrates the War Heroes Commemoration Month to felicitate and commemorate the heroic soldiers who sacrificed their lives, eyes and limbs for the freedom of the Motherland. In parallel to the commemoration more..

May 5 (DN) Minister S.B. Dissanayake questioned former President Mahinda Rajapaksa whether he provided the required security for former Defence Minister Anuruddha Ratwatte and former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga when they were prime targets of the LTTE. He said that the security of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has not been removed and he has been provided STF personnel. The STF personnel have been especially trained to protect VIPs. more..

May 5 (CT) The 3rd of May marks the world press freedom day. Among other factors, unimpeded violence against the press culminated in the Silent Revolution one year ago. Of this violence included injustice toward media giants, press freedom fighters such as Lasantha Wickrematunge and many others who were brutally assassinated. The contribution of Sri Lankan journalists over decades of civil war and before remains immense. Despite multifold limitations to freedom they continued work more..

May 5 (Reuters) Shares rose slightly on Thursday, hovering near their highest level in about four months hit in the previous session, as foreign investors turned net buyers. However, the gains were capped as investors were worried that the island govt's move to increase the VAT and impose new taxes effective from Monday would hit the bottom lines of companies. Sri Lanka is seeking to raise 100 billion rupees ($687.8 million) in revenue in 2016 by increasing VAT and new taxes, more..

May 5 (CT) As usual, on the very first day of the month of May, all political parties celebrated the May Day, that is supposed to belong to the workers. Celebrations of the workers' day varied. Colombo as well as Galle was filled with the participants for the May Day rallies. By night, the show of May Day rallies was over. Participants had left for their homes, may be, after having a small drink provided as a token of appreciation for taking part in May Day rallies. more..

May 5 (CT) Good governance activist and former chairman of CCC, Chandra Jayaratne has warned President Sirisena that due to the bad governance at Central Bank, the good governance govt is facing its biggest credibility threat. In a letter addressed to Sirisena, Jayaratne reminded how civil society and media protested early in the administration under his leadership, when a purported bond scam was reported more..

May 5 (CT) FCID last Monday questioned former Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) Chairman Mohan Samaranayake about an alleged misappropriation of public funds arising from permitting the television broascaster CSN to use the Kokavil transmission tower. FCID sources said that the former SLRC Chairman had been questioned for over five hours related to the issue. The sources added that from investigations carried out into the incident so far, it has been revealed that more..

May 5 (Island) Minister Sagala Ratnayake refrained from revealing the names of public servants, artistes and businessmen against whom the FCID has initiated investigations. Responding to a question raised by UPFA MP Prasanna Ranatunga, minister said that it was unethical and unjust to reveal the names as inquiries were in progress and none had yet been found guilty. There had been complaints against 114 public servants, 5 artistes and 18 businessmen to the FCID since Jan 8, 2015 more..

May 5 (WI) Given his recent form across all formats, his recalling to the national Test side to tour England baffles many. But not Aravinda de Silva — the former batting great who was in charge of the cricket selectors for a brief 40-day period — who believes the misfiring Lahiru Thirimanne should be persisted with as the 27-year-old is destined for greatness. Soon after assuming duties as chairman of selectors for the brief 40-day stint in Feb, more..

May 5 (Island) UN yesterday received access to Joseph Camp (Vanni Security Forces Headquarters). Sources said that Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Juan E. Méndez had visited the base. The army has been accused of torturing suspects at that facility––a charge the military has vehemently denied. Member of the UN Panel of Experts Yasmin Sooka, too, accused the military of torturing suspects there. more..

May 5 (EN) The Colombo Stock Exchange, together with the CFA Society Sri Lanka, has launched a campaign to promote awareness of the rights of investors aimed at maintaining market integrity. A central focus of the campaign is the Statement of Investor Rights, which investment management professionals are encouraged to share with their clients and communities. The list applies to financial products and services such as investment management, research and advice, more..

May 5 (Xinhua) Sri Lankan govt on Thursday said it hoped to increase its exports to 30 billion dollars by 2020, in order to strengthen its frail economy and compete with regional markets. Speaking at an event to launch the World Export Development Forum 2016, which will be held in Sri Lanka in October, International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrema said the country's share of global exports had been on the decline, and more..

May 5 (Island) Mawathagama police have so far failed to arrest the suspect who attempted to rape an 18-year-old schoolgirl. The intrepid girl succeeded in freeing herself from the clutches of the man who tried to rape her by biting off part of his tongue. It is being kept in a freezer. Investigations have revealed that the suspect had entered the victim’s house by removing roof tiles. Police acting on information provided by the girl took into custody a suspect but his tongue was intact. more..

May 5 (GDI) Dr. Harsh de Silva visited Saudi Arabia from 1st to 4th May to resolve long-standing Consular and labour issues faced by Sri Lankan migrant workers there. During his meetings with Dr. Mofarrej Saad Al- Hoqubani, Labour Minister and Dr. Ahmed Al Salem, Deputy Interior Minister of Saudi Arabia, Dr. Harsha de Silva articulated the problems of stranded Sri Lankan employees and ýconvinced the two Ministers of urgent need for finding solutions in the immediate future. more..

May 5 (Bernama) The possibility of exploring a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Malaysia and Sri Lanka would take at least two to three years, said Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa. He said the timeline, which is considered reasonable, would also depend on the negotiations between both countries. "They can be quite tough as consultations among stakeholders, industry as well as the peoples for both countries, such as on tax duties, more..