Feb 14 (FT) Govt has proposed draft legislation to criminalise disappearances in line with its international obligations, even as the country grapples with the legacy of 65,000 people still missing after two insurgencies and a civil war. Int'l Convention for Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance Bill was gazetted by order of PM on 9 Feb. Cabinet approval was granted to gazette the enforced disappearances bill more..

Feb 14 (NR) Embassy of the US, in Colombo today announced that the new US administration has not made any changes to the existing visa policy regarding Sri Lankan applicants. The US Embassy in Colombo accordingly rejected all media reports pertaining to the matter. US Embassy in Colombo said, “US visa policy in regards to Sri Lanka has NOT changed. Rumors to the contrary are false.” Several media outlets circulated reports containing new regulations for SL visa applicants more..

Feb 14 (AD) A group of protesters alleged that a close relative of the Speaker, Karu Jaysuriya, of taking part in illegal soil excavation activities in Rambutanwatha, Kotadeniyawa. Locals in the area engaged in the demonstration over the fear of drought like conditions setting in, as a result of the mass excavation process. During a visit made by Deputy Minister Ranjan Ramanayake, he stated that the excavation process itself was an example of mass environmental destruction. more..

Feb 14 (AD) The Govt Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) on Monday threatened strike action, if an ‘effective solution’ is not reached regarding the private medical college in Malabe.   While stressing seminars would be held across the country to make people aware of the situation, GMOA Secretary Dr. Naveen de Zoysa said that black flags have been hoisted at all govt hospitals to protest the SAITM. more..

Feb 14 (DM) There was this rather intriguing article in Forbes, which read as: “After claiming South China Sea to be its own sea, telling America to stay off its islands, China is reaching for the Indian Ocean, telling India to stay off its own colony, Sri Lanka.” My first impression was that it was something that had been lifted from a pamphlet of Rudrakumar’s Transnational Govt of Tamil Eelam. Usually it is those types who strive to pick the most demeaning of words to call us out. more..

Feb 14 (DM) The experiment of Transparency International in this regard seems to be too tough at the beginning of the implementation of the RTI Act. Two civil movements, Sarvodaya and Transparency International (TI) had recently said that most of the Govt institutions did not look prepared to implement the Right to Information (RTI) Act, citing that even the information officers appointed to some Govt institutions were not properly educated on the Act, though the law came into force on Feb 3. more..

Feb 14 (ENS) A budding Indo-SL filmmaker, Anila SK, has turned out a classic on the problems of the aged in India in her maiden feature film Orazhcha (A Week). Premiered at the recent Jaffna International Film Festival where it charmed the audience, Malayalam language film offers a peek into the outwardly placid but inwardly surcharged world of a retired middle-class couple living in present-day Kerala. more..

Feb 14 (SL) Alarge scale gem mining racket has been unearthed in the Matale area using heavy machinery. During a recent visit to the area, the scale of the gem mining racket was clearly visible and the racket continues despite such activities being banned. Almost all the paddy fields in the Raththota Kaluganga area have become gem mines. Environment has been severely damaged as a result of the gem mining activities, more..

Feb 14 (DM) Minister Susil Premajayantha said that it would be ill-advised for the govt to go for a referendum at this time. He said his SLFP was only for Constitutional Reforms that do not warrant approval of people by referendum. Q: There were reports about your visit to the USA. It was rumoured that you had been sent as an emissary of President Sirisena to engage with President Donald Trump. more..

Feb 14 (DM) Donors said they would be forced to withdraw tens of millions of rupees if Health Ministry went ahead with the plan to transfer the Vision 2020 Social Justice Unit to the College of Ophthalmologists. For the past eight years the Vision 2020 Unit has carried out about 50,000 cataracts surgeries free of charge, mainly for poor people in rural areas. Vision 2020 was run by a National Steering Committee headed by more..

Feb 14 (ST) Confusion over what constitutes a Public Authority (PA) under the Right to Information (RTI) Act and uncertainty about who the designated Information Officers (IO) of various govt entities are, marked the first week of implementation of the new law. They provided a window into the immense challenges that lie ahead, were the public to use the landmark legislation to its fullest potential. For the moment, however, more..

Feb 14 (Island) Two consignments of roses imported for the Valentine Day from Thailand and India had been confiscated at the BIA at Katunayake by National Plant Quarantine Service on Saturday, sources there said yesterday. There were 53 kilos of roses in one consignment while the other had 2,000 flowers, the sources said. The airport authorities suspect that the two consignments had been imported by a politician. more..

Feb 14 (Island) Executive Director of CaFFE Keerthi Tennekoon recently said that the rogue elements in both the UPFA regime and the incumbent govt charged with misappropriating state funds to the tune of billions of rupees and accepting huge kickbacks and commissions for various projects undertaken by investors and to approve some of the projects which were inimical to the country had started a vehement campaign more..

Feb 14 (AD) Sri Lanka has the potential to achieve the zero hunger status before the ten year target set out by the UN, former President Chandrika Kumaratunga said. She said that Sri Lanka would achieve one of the sustainable development goals (SDG) set out by the United Nations (UN), which focuses on ending hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition while promoting sustainable agriculture. more..

Feb 14 (CG) Britain is to sponsor a new resolution on Sri Lanka at the UNHRC at its upcoming session in Geneva. Decision was communicated to the Council at the organisational meeting for the 34th session of UNHRC held in Geneva yesterday. Resolution will look to give SL time to address the accountability issue on the war. Ahead of the resolution being tabled, Minister Mangala Samaraweera will address UNHRC more..

Feb 14 (DM) 13 Teachers’ Trade Unions (TTU) including Sri Lanka Teachers’ Union (SLTU) yesterday confirmed their support to the Inter University Students’ Federation (IUSF) in the campaign to abolish the SAITM. As a trade union which represents over 228,000 of teachers and principals, SLTU Secretary Joseph Stalin said that the entire govt work force opposed the govt’s twisted resolution on the SAITM issue. more..

Feb 14 (EN) Fitch Ratings said it has changed the outlook on Sri Lanka Telecom's (SLT) Long-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) to stable from negative and confirmed the IDRs at 'B+'. The dominant fixed line operator’s sales growth are likely to slow down after tax hikes, the rating agency said in a statement. The rating actions follow the outlook revision on Sri Lanka's sovereign ratings to stable from negative on 9 February 2017. more..

Feb 14 (LT) More information regarding frauds and corruption committed by former Governor of Central Bank have been exposed with the bond scam he is alleged to have been involved in. This is due to the release of an internal audit report of the CB. A retired official of CBSL has issued an announcement to the media targeting an official of the audit department of the bank that compiled the audit report stating the official who carried out the auditing too has allegations against her and more..

Feb 14 (Island) A court order is never acceptable to both parties to a legal battle. The losing side always finds fault with it while the other hails it as justice. The law is no healer and this is why legal action should be considered a pis aller. It is only natural that there has been a mixed reaction to the recent Court of Appeal judgment allowing the SAITM (South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine) medical graduates to register with the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC). more..

Feb 14 (AN) As a friend, Indonesia will help Sri Lanka, which is currently facing a food crisis because of drought, President Joko Widodo said. The country is going through a prolonged dry spell, and more than one million of its people are facing acute water shortage and a food crisis. "As friends, it is appropriate that Indonesia help SL face this difficult situation," he said, as the country delivered humanitarian aid in the form of 5,000 metric tons of rice to Sri Lanka on Tuesday. more..

Feb 14 (CT) The cost of rice continues to be among the price increases which are inconveniencing the general public. While the controlled price of ordinary Samba rice is Rs. 80 a kilo and raw white and raw red rice are Rs. 70 a kg, several supermarkets openly flout this law by selling Samba at between Rs. 75-80 a kg., and raw white and red rice at over Rs. 70 a kg as consumers know too well. This state of affairs impacts mostly more..

Feb 14 (MoD) Sri Lanka Police together with the Sri Lanka Corps of Military Police (SLCMP) are currently conducting island-wide raids to arrest tri forces personnel who are considered as Absent Without Official Leave (AWOL). Military Spokesman Brigadier Roshan Seneviratne said that around 1300 tri forces deserters have been arrested till Monday (13) from midnight 31st December 2016. Accordingly 984 army, 236 navy and 14 air force AWOL personnel were arrested to date. more..

Feb 14 (NR) TNA says it is ready to abandon the proposal on the formation of a federal system when formulating a new Constitution. MP MA Sumanthiran said, the TNA is ready to provide the necessary support for a meaningful distribution of power which can be accepted by all, without focusing on a federal system. The MP said the public has misunderstood the meaning of distributing power through the federal system. He said the distribution of power through the federal system, more..

Feb 14 (Xinhua) Some 709,400 people have been affected by the severe drought which has affected most parts of Sri Lanka, the Disaster Management Center (DMC) said on Tuesday. The towns of Gampaha, Monaragala, Kalutara and Trinco are among the worst affected areas, DMC said. The drought has resulted in farmers suffering without adequate water and some villages not even having drinking water. more..

Feb 14 (NR) Vice Chancellor of Ruhuna University Professor Gamini Senanayake says three faculties of the University which were temporarily closed will be reopened on the 20th of Feb. The decision to reopen the University was reached at a committee discussion held yesterday with faculty heads. Wellamadama premises of the University were temporarily closed owing to a clash between students and residents of the area on the 4th of Feb. Accordingly, the Faculty of Technology, more..

Feb 14 (CT) The time has now come for the Tamils of Sri Lanka including those living abroad to wake up from their deep slumber to safeguard their rights and privileges that are eroding fast, due to mishandling and wrong approach of those who had undertaken to do so. It has lasted several years now with hardly any progress made. The curse of the Tamil community in Sri Lanka is that we have too many leaders who champion the cause of the Tamils but have no courage to check their members, more..

Feb 14 (Island) CEO of SAITM Dr Sameera Senaratne, who was at the centre of a shooting drama the previous week, has written from Russia explaining his sudden departure to that country with a SAITM delegation and their return to the country on Feb 21. Following is the text: I note there is much undue speculation, disinformation and untruths currently being circulated in the mainstream and social media pertaining to circumstances more..

Feb 14 (Island) Doctors threaten countrywide union action demanding justice against armed persons who stormed Elpitiya Base Hospital and forced at gun point hospital authorities and its security personnel to remove black flags hoisted there against SAITM.  "We demand that those responsible for this heinous crime should be brought before law. We will decide our future course of action on the basis of action taken by the responsible parties to implement the law," Secretary of the GMOA more..

Feb 14 (AD) UPFA MP Bandula Gunawardane says that the people’s trust in the govt with regard to lotteries has been completely breached for the first time in SL history. He charged that the people who make a living by selling lottery tickets were gravely affected by the Rs 5 levy imposed on each and every ticket through the budget by Minister Ravi Karunanayake, for the first time ever.  As a solution to this President had to order that price of lottery tickets be reduced from Rs 30 to Rs 20, more..

Feb 14 (EN) Sri Lankan govt officials and policymakers have begun study the security implications of large foreign direct investment (FDI) projects and presence of foreign workers, according to a state national security think tank. The Institute of National Security Studies Sri Lanka (INSSSL) said inter-agency cooperation on guidelines for approving FDI in the country was mooted at a closed-door policy discussion it held at defence ministry. more..

Feb 14 (Island) Residents of Ja-Ela yesterday sought to intervene in the fundamental rights violation petition filed in the Supreme Court by the residents of Meetotamulla. The latter the original petitioner had complained that the Colombo Municipal Council had dumped garbage at Meetotamulla, causing pollution of the environment. The residents of Ja-Ela had complained that if the CMC dumps Colombo garbage at Ja-Ela, the same fate will befall on more..

Feb 14 (FT) The High Commission of Sri Lanka in London commemorated the 69th anniversary of Independence with the representation of all the communities on 4 February at the High Commission premises. The program commenced with the hoisting of the National Flag by High Commissioner Amari Wijewardene. The National Anthem of Sri Lanka was sung in Sinhala followed by the observance of two minutes’ silence in remembrance of the fallen heroes of the nation. more..

Feb 14 (NR) Supreme Court today considered a Fundamental Rights petition filed seeking an order to revoke the decision to appoint Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka as a MP. The petition was filed by UPFA Southern Provincial Councillor Ajith Prasanna. The petition states that the appointment of Sarath Fonseka to Parliament is illegal and the petitioner had claimed that the appointment has violated his fundamental rights. more..

Feb 14 (DM) A Central Committee meeting of the JHU will be held next Friday to decide whether it should take disciplinary action against Parliamentarian Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera, JHU joint chairman Ven. Hadigalle Wimalasara Thera told our sister paper Lankadeepa yesterday. Ven. Wimalasara Thera also rejected the statement made by Ven. Rathana Thera that the latter had not received any letter from the JHU requesting him to resign from the Parliamentary seat. more..

Feb 14 (Island) DLF leader Vasudeva Nanayakkara stressed that the executive presidency should prevail during the current transition period as long as Ranil Wickremesinghe was the PM of the country. He said that even though his party DLF was for repealing the executive presidency and to have a parliamentary system in its place, which would appoint a PM who would command a majority in parliament, the executive powers were more important at present as the President had to more..

Feb 14 (Island) Arjuna Mahendran, former Governor of CB, has become the favourite whipping boy for Govt critics, JO and the JVP, now running through the fifth month.  Ever since the COPE Report on the bond issue of 27 Feb 2015 was presented to Parliament in Oct 2016, the former Governor has become the focus for criticisms against the Yahapalanaya Govt and he continues to occupy prominent space both in print and more..

Feb 14 (Island) The govt should provide higher education facilities for all qualified students, LSSP leader Prof. Tissa Vitarana said. He said providing higher education for qualified students was a duty of the govt and it should allocate necessary funds for the education sector. Referring to the controversial SAITM issue, he said it was one of the main issues that affect the country as several parties related to health sector was opposed to govt’s stand on Malabe private medical college. more..

Feb 14 (DN) Minister Mahinda Amaraweera urged boat owners touring whale watches, to stop charging high fees from tourists. Foreign tourists are not entitled to special privileges, he said. Minister said that foreign tourists should not be swindled since it will harm the reputation of the country and tourism industry. Minister requested to reduce the boat fee to at least Rs 4,000. Mirissa and Kapparatota coastline and the Fishery harbour are densely inhabited by Whales and more..

Feb 14 (AD) President Sirisena emphasized that there should not be room for shortage of rice in the market as well as, an appropriate mechanism should be implemented promptly to provide rice to the public at subsidiary rates. He made these remarks during a meeting with the rice mill owners and the rice importers, held today. He further said that the tax reliefs given when importing rice into the country, should be given to more..