Apr 19 (Island) Vice Chancellor of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura Prof. Sampath Amaratunga said yesterday that stray dogs had become a nuisance. Prof. Amaratunga said there were more than 130 stray dogs living inside the university premises and they were a threat to students, academic and non academic staff members. The stray canines had bitten 18 students and non academic staff members during the last two months, Prof Amaratunga told The Island. more..

Apr 19 (EN) CMC said it warned 25 households to evacuate, but only six of them accepted a rent allowance and left before the Kolonnawa garbage mountain collapsed killing 32 people. CMC Commissioner V.K.A. Anura said he had even painted warning signs on the walls of 25 homes that were identified as most vulnerable, but regretfully the advise was not heeded. "Six families accepted the rent allowance of rs. 15,000 a month more..

Apr 19 (DM) The reports on the investigations carried out by the PRECIFAC into three petitions including misappropriation of govt funds at the opening ceremony of the Hambantota Port would be handed over to the President this week. Several people including former minister Rohitha Abeygunawardena, former SLPA Chairman Priyath Bandu Wickrama and artistes Jackson Anthony, dancers and choreographers Channa and Upuli Wijewardene were questioned in connection more..

Apr 19 (Island) SL’s cricketers will arrive in England a week before they are scheduled and will be based in Kent where, apart from training, they will play two ODIs against Scotland. SLC CEO Ashley De Silva said that the board has taken the initiative to book grounds, hotels and training facilities in Kent. "The team will arrive in England on the 18th May and will be based in Kent for a week. The board will bear all those costs during the team’s first week’s stay in England," De Silva said. more..

Apr 19 (Island) Wartime Director Operations, Joint Operations Headquarters (JOH), the then Brigadier Kumara Herath has told the CID that Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Air Chief Marshal Donald Perera had told him that The Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickrematunga had been killed with a sharp object soon after the incident which occurred on the morning of January 8, 2009 at Attidiya, Dehiwela. more..

Apr 19 (DS) Coach Graham Ford returned to the island for another important assignment in early 2016 when the team was struggling with transition after the retirement of Sangakkara, Mahela and Dilshan. Considering the side’s current form, Ford has done an outstanding job in all departments of the game. With a few crucial wins under the belt, the young Sri Lankan side rests as a very competitive unit ahead of the all-important ICC Champions Trophy in England later this year.  more..

Apr 19 (Island) The Collective of Citizens Organizations has accused Sri Jayewardenepura University administration of recently hiring a private pets control firm to remove at least 30 dogs ahead of a free sterilisation project. Chameerra Perera of Left Centre alleged that they suspected that the dogs had been buried after being made unconscious. Perera said that they had lodged a complaint with the Mirihana police and were in touch with Kohuwela based private firm, Perera said that more..

Apr 19 (FT) Unwilling to leave their homes and the possessions they have collected over a lifetime, Ellen (76), her neighbour and daughter sit by the roadside staring at the Meethotamulla dumpsite. Across the small footpath from where she is seated, her partially damaged house bears the weight of two more houses which were uprooted during the disaster on 14 April. “We were getting ready to visit a relative for Avurudu. more..

Apr 19 (FT) The solid waste management crisis in the country took a fresh turn yesterday when residents from Kotikawatta protested against the dumping of garbage in the area. Authorities reassumed dumping waste collected from Colombo in Kotikawatta yesterday, after the Meethotamulla garbage dump tragedy. However, protests by the community in the area led the CMC authorities to abandon the idea. The residents of the Kotikawatta claimed that the Govt had violated the ethics more..

Apr 19 (BelTA) Grodno State Medical University intends to open a branch in Sri Lanka. A delegation of Grodno University is now busy negotiating in Sri Lanka. “We intend to open a branch of the university's preparatory courses department. The idea will be implemented in 2018 if not in 2017. We are considering hiring local teaching staff. Specialists from Grodno will be sent to Sri Lanka for short-term business trips for the sake of control, performance review, & educational support” more..

Apr 19 (CT) Victims of the Meethotamulla garbage dump collapse rejected govt's offer of compensation in an amount of Rs 100,000 and an additional sum of Rs 2.5 million for construction of a new house. They have insisted that they will not budge from the site till such time as the govt is prepared to provide them with the precise market value of the houses destroyed in addition to compensation for value of land lost. more..

Apr 19 (DM) With the United States dropping the biggest ever 21,600-pound non-nuclear bomb in Afghanistan a week after 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired at a Syrian Air Force base, the world appears to be on the brink of an Apocalypse with nuclear war drums also beating in the Korean peninsula. Most world news analysts believe that with the unpredictable President Donald Trump taking confusing, contradictory if not arbitrary or reckless decisions in US and North Korea’s more..

Apr 19 (DM) Aged old boys – Ranil and Mahinda need each other to keep both politically afloat. If one is to win, is it due to the unpopularity of the other? Votes come less from the dwindling party cadres: others think twice before they vote? Sirisena needs to ride on the unpopularity of the other two for survival - being a nowhere kid, without the support of the Rajapaksas’ or the UNP, is unlikely to reach anywhere except home sweet home. Is this a battle of the unpopular - more..

Apr 19 (DM) The following are the gist of representations made by me before the People’s Commission to formulate a policy framework for international trade and treaties appointed by the Professionals’ National Front. The commission headed by former Vice Chancellor of Colombo University W.D. Lakshman has seven members, former Attorney General Palitha Fernando, Dr. Anula Wijesundara, former Director General of Commerce Dept more..

Apr 19 (DM) Responding to Western Province Chief Minister (CM) Isura Devapriya, Megapolis and Western Development Ministry said CM introduced British Company was not equipped with technical or fiscal capability to execute a project to generate electricity from garbage collected at Meethotamulla. CM Devapriya on Monday said he came up with a proposal in May last year to remove the garbage dump at Meethotamulla but more..

Apr 19 (Island) The govt has decided to grant Rs. 100,000 compensation for each life lost in the catastrophic Meethotamulla garbage dump collapse and up to Rs 2.5 million in compensation will be granted for each property damaged, according to the Ministry of Finance. The compensation will be paid under the National Natural Disaster Insurance Scheme (NNDIS). In addition to that, the treasury will issue the required funds to pay more..

Apr 19 (ST) Sri Lanka’s detectives have busted a multimillion dollar international cyber crime ring run by a group of Nigerians operating from Colombo and posing off as businessmen. CID officers said they had arrested 15 Nigerians who had allegedly been siphoning off millions of dollars from the bank accounts of several overseas companies. CID launched its investigation into the hacking scam following a complaint more..

Apr 19 (CI) Five men stand in front of the sponsors' backdrop at the presentation that follows SL's T20 win over Bangladesh. Four of them are holding cheques; the man who holds nothing is Thilanga Sumathipala, SLC president and unelected deputy speaker of the House. He stands closest to the presenter, and his presence seems gratuitous at first. When proceedings begin, however, it becomes clear that camera is smitten with Sumathipala more..

Apr 19 (DN) Sri Lanka is looking at a target of one million houses to be installed with solar energy by 2020, said Chairman, SL Sustainable Energy Authority Keerthi Wickramaratne. Currently there are only around 12,000 houses using solar energy and those too mainly in the Western Province. He said that currently the govt is offering easy payment terms for households to install solar energy to their house roof tops. more..

Apr 19 (Island) Accusing the SLFP-led UPFA and the govt of criminal negligence in the wake of Meethotamulla tragedy, Collective of Civil Society Organizations yesterday pointed out that successive governments dumped garbage there in contravention of a specific Supreme Court ruling. The civil society grouping alleged that the SC directive given in 2009 had been violated on a daily basis until April 14 tragedy claimed the lives more..

Apr 19 (AD) Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne stated that the claims made by the GMOA regarding a tobacco company locating a plant in Sri Lanka, is false.  He further added that there has been no govt that had committed itself to abolish tobacco from the country, and had taken steps such as taxing 90% of the manufacturers income, and increasing pictorial warnings by 80%, compared to what it was.  more..

Apr 19 (LBO) Sri Lanka’s external reserves have fallen to a 6.9 year low after country’s reserves dropped almost 9% to US$ 5.12 billion in March 2017. Central Bank has purchased US$ 192.23 million of foreign exchange from commercial banks at market rates in March while selling just US$ 13 million in the month. Foreign currency reserves dipped 11% to US$ 4.16 billion and reserves in Gold were US$ 0.89 billion. more..

Apr 19 (PSL) President Sirisena has given instructions to expedite the resettlement process for the people who are affected by the section of the Meethotamulla garbage dump collapse. Accordingly, a programme for providing houses for the displaced persons will be implemented from tomorrow. Initially, houses will be given to 98 families, whose houses were completely destroyed. more..

Apr 19 (CT) Deaths due to the Aluth Avurudu tragedy caused by the collapse of the man-made Meethotamulla garbage mountain as at Monday stood at 30, while 11 were listed as missing. Reports as at yesterday said that the death toll had risen to 31. Meethotamulla garbage mountain's construction work had its origins during the iron fist regime of Mahinda Rajapaksa, when his all powerful brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa (Gota) took upon himself the additional portfolio of Urban Development more..

Apr 19 (CT) Three years ago, the term fake news wouldn’t have made an impact in Sri Lanka because media was curtailed, journalists were kidnapped or shot for their dissenting views and websites with opposing views were shrouded to secrecy. Enter Colombo Telegraph. It proclaims in journalism truth is a process. That truth seems to be a veneer of lies when you have cultivated an online platform where journalists can argue the pros and cons of treating women like chattel, more..

Apr 19 (CT) Colombo Telegraph has come to know that the professor of Mathematics at the University of Jaffna who topped the VC’s election held recently has a questionable track record as academic administrator and public figure. Members of the University Council, as electors of Vice Chancellors, are obligated to search for and elect leaders with inclusive social vision for the highest administrative seat in the public university. If a candidate with a narrow social vision more..

Apr 19 (Island) SLFP is not the inheritance (Boodalaya) of any one. It is the duty and responsibility of the present leaders of the party to protect it, Most Venerable Dimbulkumbure Sri Wimaladhamma Anunayake Thera of Malwatta said when former President Mahinda Rajapaksa called on him yesterday. Thera said, the SLFP, is not the inheritance (Boodalaya) of President Sirisena nor of former President Rajapaksa. If both leaders wished to save the country both must join hands. more..

Apr 19 (DM) For the first time in Sri Lanka, the United Nation Vesak Day celebration will be held in Colombo and Kandy from May 12 to 14 with the participation of large number of local and foreign delegations, Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said today He said the UN Vesak Day celebration will be held for the 14th time this year and this is the first time Sri Lanka has been given the opportunity to host this festival. more..

Apr 19 (PTI) PM Narendra Modi will visit Sri Lanka next month to take part in the celebrations marking the UN Vesak Day, the most important in the Buddhist calendar. PM Modi will make his second visit to Sri Lanka in the second week of May, Minister of Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said here. During his visit, he will take part in the UN Vesak Day celebrations to be held here from May 12 to 14. "The Indian PM has confirmed his visit," Rajapakshe told reporters. more..

Apr 19 (CT) The body of the Police constable who was believed to have disappeared on 4 April was discovered last Monday (17) by the Saliyawewa Police in Anuradhapura. The 38-year-old Police constable disappeared while he was armed with a pistol, two weeks ago. However, following stringent investigations, the Saliyawewa Police discovered the body and the firearm near the Kala-Oya Nilabemma area. The body is being kept under Police protection pending a magisterial inquiry. more..

Apr 19 (NR) All Island Wildlife Officers’ Association has appealed the general public for pardon for the unintentional shooting of a Wild female Elephant that took place in Vavuniya. Chairman of the Association AMCP Attanayake expressed his regret over the death of the wild elephant. Chairman further stated that sole motive of the Wild Life Officers on site at the time was to rescue the elephant & her calf that had fallen into a well more..

Apr 19 (NR) Three cases filed by the CIABOC against the former Chairman of the National Lotteries Board and Former Deputy Minister Sarana Gunawardene will be taken up for hearing today. Sarana Gunawardene has been charged for leasing vehicles of his associates during his term as Chairman. The case will be heard before the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court today. The case was filed by the Bribery Commission against the former Deputy Minister for failing to declare more..

Apr 19 (CT) Govt of the Republic of Turkey will hand over school bags and stationery items to 3,000 school children in Jaffna on 22 April. The event will be held at the Velanai Central College, Jaffna from 9:30 a.m. onwards. This project was initiated by Vijayakala Maheswaran, State Minister of Child Affairs, and is financed by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), the official aid agency of Turkey. Turkish Ambassador to Sri Lanka Tunca Özçuhadar said, more..

Apr 19 (DM) An attempt to dump the garbage sent from Karadiyana at a ground in the Attidiya area was thwarted by residents with the support of former Dehiwela-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council members today. The garbage trucks which were turned away from Karadiyana earlier today were then sent to Attidiya by officials, where it was not allowed to dump its load once again by residents and local govt members, who gathered at more..

Apr 19 (Island) In a condolence letter addressed to the Chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority on behalf of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), its Secretary General Dr. Taleb Rifai expressed his heartfelt condolences on the demise of H.M.S Samaranayake, former Director General and Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourist Board and the Head of Asia-Pacific Division of the UNWTO from 1988 to 1990. more..

Apr 19 (NR) Ministry of Health says several health programmes are currently underway for those affected in the collapse of the garbage dump in Meethotamulla. Director General of Health Services said several programmes to assess the mental health of those affected and counselling programmes are being carried out. The health condition of those displaced is being assessed thoroughly. Health units are focused on the spread of rat fever, dengue and influenza in the area. more..

Apr 19 (NR) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe says the govt is in the process of formulating a stringent and efficient program to manage waste within the country. PM added international experience will be utilized for this purpose. Premier made this statement when he visited the area in Meethotamulla where the garbage dump submerged houses last Friday. PM and SL delegation arrived this morning after cutting short his visit more..

Apr 19 (AD) In light of a protest, disposal of garbage collected from Colombo in Karadiyana, Piliyandala has been temporarily stalled, Karadiyana Waste Management Authority’s Manager, Dhanuka Wijerathna says. He stated that although garbage was disposed of at Karadiyana earlier today, further disposal had been halted due to a protest which began at 9:30 am. The protest was organized by a group of residents and politicians, against diverting garbage collected from Colombo to more..

Apr 19 (CT) Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa says a probe is underway to ascertain the reasons behind the supply of sub-standard coffins to bury 14 persons who died in last Saturday's Meethotamulla garbage dump tragedy. He said a committee of officials from his Ministry was sent to Kolonnawa and Meethotamulla specifically, to carry out the probe. Yapa added that after the President advised him to hold the funerals of all those who died in the tragedy at State expense, more..