Jan 9 (CT) There could be no single potent force in human nature that is as utterly destructive as greed! Greed for power, greed to be popular, greed for what does not belong to you, greed to manipulate, greed to control with nary a thought of the possible repercussions. Humanity's greedy nature has paved the way to a number of routes that has addressed itself as development and evolution etc., that has caused nothing, but more..

Jan 9 (SO) The Emirates management has drawn up plans to minimize the issues with the Katunayake Airport reconstruction program from January 6 to April 6. Emirates airline which operates 41 flights to and from Colombo a week has rescheduled its flights for the duration of the day-time closure of the BIA. “As a result, 13 of our flights to and from Colombo have been cancelled. These are our daily flights from Colombo to Singapore, and one of our five daily flights to Dubai. more..

Jan 9 (SG) Did PM Ranil Wickremesinghe bargain for trouble when he appointed, last year, a task force to seek public views and comments on advancing the cause of reconciliation in the island nation? Anyway, the task force’s recommendation that Sri Lanka should bring in international prosecutors and judges to help investigate alleged atrocities in the civil war that ended in 2009 seems to have divided the nation. In effect, the task force has endorsed the UN call for including international judges more..

Jan 9 (ST) The BIA was abuzz on Friday morning with heightened activity amidst the congestion and increased staff working round the clock to ensure there would be a smooth operation to ease passenger traffic on the first day when the facility was scheduled to close by 8.30am. The runway at the BIA that needs resurfacing has resulted in temporary daily closure of the main airport from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm more..

Jan 9 (EN) Sri Lanka’s tourism authority wants to support small tourist property owners as part of plans to expand the island’s room capacity to cater to a steady increase in the number of visitors, an official said. Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority chairman Paddy Withana said the government will provide financial support and training for product development. “We are looking at supporting smaller properties,” he told a news conference. more..

Jan 9 (TOI) Though they usually get the blame for apprehending fishermen from Tamil Nadu, SL navy personnel on Thursday saved six fishermen from the Andaman, who were stranded in the sea for nearly 40 days. The fast attack craft, P4445 of the 4th fast attack flotilla of the eastern naval command of the island nation, had spotted the boat at Poduwakattu sea area on Thursday. The fishermen had sailed from Andaman Islands and were stranded mid-sea after suffering an engine failure. more..

Jan 9 (DN) GCE A/L Exam results were released on Saturday and Nisal Punsara of Rahula College, Matara topped island ranking in Biology Stream and Amaya Dharmasiri of Maliyadeva Girls’ College, Kurunegala ranked the first in Physical Science stream. Muditha Rajapakshe of Ananda College, Colombo and Indeewari Gawarammana of Girls’ High School, Kandy secured first places in Commerce and Arts streams respectively. more..

Jan 9 (Island) With the increase in US Fed interest rates most foreign investors would withdraw their US dollars form Sri Lanka to invest in their native markets/ countries. This would create big  pressure on foreign reserves, a well known academic said. "Currently, the US economy is growing and the US dollar is strengthening against the rupee and there would be pressure on the exchange rate and foreign reserves. There would be a risk of forex reserves moving out of the country more..

Jan 9 (DN) Around 280 prisoners were released across the country yesterday in view of the 2nd anniversary of President Sirisena in office. Prisoners convicted for minor offences, including those who were unable to pay small fines, had been granted a presidential pardon. A batch of prisoners serving prison terms for minor offences were released from Batticaloa Prison under the general amnesty for prisonersto mark the 2nd anniversary of President's assumption of office. more..

Jan 9 (Island) Hiru TV drone, which recorded and transmitted aerial pictures of the Hambantota protest and police crackdown on Saturday, had been launched about two km away from the place where PM Ranil Wickremesinghe and other dignitaries were present, News Director of ABC Sudeva Hettiarachchi said. He argued that there had been no need for the PM’s Security Division to grab the drone which posed no threat to anyone. more..

Jan 9 (Island) SL will be desperately trying to avoid defeat in the third and final Test against South Africa here in Johannesburg. The tourists lost the first two Tests by heavy margins. They were thrashed by 206 runs in the Boxing Day Test in Port Elizabeth and then suffered another massive 282-run loss in the 2nd game in Cape Town. South Africa could have enforced the follow-on in the 2nd Test, but opted against doing so and still went onto beat the tourists with a day and two sessions to spare. more..

Jan 9 (EN) Chief minister of India's Andhra Pradesh said Sunday that Sri Lanka sought help from his southern state to adopt internet-based technologies for a major energy saving and water management drive. Chandrababu Naidu said he discussed with President Maithripala Sirisena and PM Ranil Wickremesinghe about enhancing cooperation to improve Sri Lanka's service delivery using the internet. "There were two immediate projects identified," he told reporters. more..

Jan 9 (CT) Sri Lanka's Government and India's Andhra Pradesh State Government have agreed to share their knowledge and experience to build a tech-savvy, poverty free happy society, visiting Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said yesterday. "Sri Lankan ministers were very much keen to study our LED bulb-led Energy saving mechanism and Water transfer mechanism," he said. more..

Jan 9 (Island) The Italian Navy FREMM (European Multi-Mission Frigate) Carabiniere will is expected to visit Colombo from January 11-14. Colombo is the second port visit of a four-months deployment, started in La Spezia on Dec 20, which will bring the ship to call in several ports in Australia, Indonesia, Malesia, Oman, Pakistan and Singapore. On January 11, the Commanding Officer of ITS Carabiniere, Commander Francesco Pagnotta, will host the media on board the vessel more..

Jan 9 (DM) President Maithripala Sirisena is to submit a proposal to the International Buddhist Seminar-a segment at the 2017 UN Vesak Day celebrations to be held in Sri Lanka- to declare Vesak Day as a fully-fledged UN holiday, Parliamentary reforms and Media Ministry Secretary Nimal Bopage said today. The 193-member UN General Assembly in 1999 declared an “International Day of Observance for Vesak” on the initiative of the then Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar. more..

Jan 9 (DM) TNA said it was fairly positive in the overall context about the reports submitted by the six subcommittees with proposals for making the new Constitution. TNA, which is the main Opposition of Parliament, had its Parliamentary group meeting yesterday. Party’s Jaffna district MP M.A. Sumanthiran said that his party would await the interim report by the Steering Committee so that all the matters could be discussed. more..

Jan 9 (CT) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe, speaking at the second year anniversary of the investiture of President Sirisena, said that due to the ensuing media freedom, printing industry is profiting beyond its wildest imagination. Speaking at the ceremony for the cotton anniversary of Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration, PM emphasised the need to strengthen the country as one, in order to develop towards the future. Due to the increased development rate in Southern Asian region, more..

Jan 9 (Island) At least ten MPs of the Joint Opposition (JO) would be taken into custody during the next couple of days for staging protests in Hambantota in violation of a court order banning demonstrations, a senior police officer said. Police said those MPs had led protests and participated in a march violating the court order. MPs had been identified by a special team of policemen who scrutinised the video footage of the protest march. Some of the MPs had been identified for more..

Jan 9 (Island) Many an eyebrow has been raised over State Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena’s recent claim that the govt hadn’t so far approved an exclusive 15,000 acre industrial park in the Hambantota District though Parliament being informed of the project in late August last year. PM Ranil Wickremesinghe himself revealed the agreement with China in response to a query raised by JVP MP Bimal Ratnayake. more..

Jan 9 (ST) The much discussed and debated hot topic of publicly listing key State owned Enterprises (SOE) is slated to happen this year, according to PM Ranil Wickremesinghe. Capital market sources said that after the Bank of Ceylon (BOC)-Seylan Bank saga which has left a bad taste in the share market, the PM has promised top officials at Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that the govt will list the two hotels by this first quarter. more..

Jan 9 (DN) Sivadurga Sathynathan, a student of Vavuniya Rambakulam Balika Vidyalaya who died on Oct 12 last year following a road accident the previous day, had obtained the highest marks in the Mathematics stream in the Vavuniya district at the GCE A/L exam held in 2016.  The parents who arrived at the school to peruse the results were thoroughly distraught, holding back their tears, as they observed their daughter’s excellent marks in the results displayed in the notice board. more..

Jan 9 (ENS) President Maithripala Sirisena on Sunday told his detractors and Doubting Thomases that the National Unity govt will stay to fulfill the mandate it received two years ago on this day. He further said that he is not worried about statements or actions of those who are wanting to topple the govt this year. Speaking at a colorful function held at the BMICH to mark the second anniversary of his Presidency, Sirisena said more..

Jan 9 (DM) In the developed Western countries, political differences between party political leaders were largely limited to the political field and hardly ever taken to personal levels. In times of crisis we often saw national leaders cast aside their ideological stances especially when national interests were at stake.  One of the best examples of this was witnessed when Osama Bin Laden unleashed attacks on the US. The political leadership of US cast aside their differences more..

Jan 9 (DM) Dawn of the New Year 2017 saw former President Rajapaksa’s public claim that he would oust the Yahapalanaya government of the conjoined parties this year, to munch along with. He left political circles excited about how and when he would take over if he did, when he chose a breakfast meeting with foreign correspondents to say he would work towards a change of govt.  PM wanted to make Rajapakasa sound a joke and said he would allow Rajapaksa to do whatever he wanted to, more..

Jan 9 (DM) The Police crackdowns on Saturday’s protest at Hambantota was completely justifiable since the protestors broke into the function, where Parliament members and Chinese delegations were present, State Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe said. “They behaved in an unruly manner causing damages to public properties,” he said addressing a media briefing with Minister Vijith Wijayamuni Zoysa, more..

Jan 9 (SL) The involvement of certain cabinet ministers in large scale fraud is continuing further ignoring the civil society outcry which has led to damage the reputation of the good governance administration that was formed exactly two years from today. Another billion rupee fraud is now taking place at Wahalkada, Anuradhapura with the alleged involvement of Minister Vijith Vijithamuni Soyza, Sunday Leader reliably understands. more..

Jan 9 (ST) SLFP wants to retain the executive presidency and has decided that Maithripala Sirisena should be the party’s candidate at the 2020 presidential election. Unanimous decision came at a meeting of SLFP ministers just after last Tuesday’s weekly ministerial session. It was summoned by President Sirisena to brief them on his plans for 2017. He completes his 2nd year in office today and begin his 3rd from tomorrow. more..

Jan 9 (DN) PM Ranil Wickremasinghe said true freedom was established during the last two years by the govt while carrying out true development. “The majority of people decided to vote in favour of forming a national unity govt aiming to experience true freedom and true development on Jan 8, 2015,” he said. PM was addressing a ceremony to mark the commencement of the 3rd year of President Sirisena in office. more..

Jan 9 (DN) The A/L Exam results of 80 students have been temporarily withheld. The results of students who sat for the exam fraudulently from districts other than their own have been withheld following preliminary investigations by Education Ministry. These students whose results have been withheld had sat for the Exam from Central, North Western, North Central Provinces. This was the first time results have been withheld for cheating more..

Jan 9 (TOI) Showing keen interest in partnering with Andhra Pradesh govt in building the capital city of Amaravati, SL govt has suggested to chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu to replicate some of the development plans initiated in the Western province of that country to attract tourists from across the world. SL, which chiefly depends on revenue earned from tourism, has taken up massive development of Western prov. more..

Jan 9 (DN) Already 50 Chinese financiers have come forward to invest in the Sri Lanka-China Logistics and Industrial Zone, State Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe said. He said that Chinese Ambassador, Yi Xianliang has confirmed that 50 investors have already given the green light to invest in the Mirijjawila, Hambantota Industrial Zone. “The confirmed investors are only from China. Fifty is a very small number of investors to China. more..

Jan 9 (Island) Yahapalana govt’s much touted promise to open a Volkswagen manufacturing facility in SL had been one another of the false promises made by the then Opposition in the run-up to August 2015 parliamentary polls, former Minister G.L. Peiris said. Having declared that the world renowned German automobile giant would establish a plant at Kuliyapitiya, UNP-SLFP coalition had handed over land to Noel Selvanayagam, more..

Jan 9 (EN) Sri Lanka has printed tens of billions of rupees, in one of the largest volumes of central bank credit extended in a single day in the history of the central bank to finance cash-strapped public finances, official data show. The move helped flood the banking system in 108 billion rupees of excess liquidity, undermining monetary policy aimed at keeping inflation low and putting further pressure on the rupee analyst say. more..

Jan 9 (NR) Parliament convened for the first time for the year 2017 this morning. Parliament was up to its usual grandeur with heated debates breaking out over the recent debacle in Hambantota. Unrest broke out when a group of protesters displeased over the opening of the Southern Development Zone on Saturday, engaged in clashes with security leading to several persons sustaining injuries. more..

Jan 9 (CT) A formal complaint filed from the membership of the Sri Lanka chapter of Transparency International (TISL) regarding serious irregularities and allegations of financial mismanagement within TISL has been referred by the Board of Ethics of TI-Head Office, Berlin to the Chair of the International Board of Directors of Transparency International (TI) for necessary action as per the applicable rules of TI-International. On inquiries being made from the Berlin office more..

Jan 9 (CT) It is saddening to see that the concrete jungle is gradually taking shape in Wilpattu which was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1905 during the British period. Wilpattu remains one of the largest wildlife sanctuaries in SL with an area of nearly 131,693 hectares. The wildlife sanctuary is known as Wilpattu for its unique landscape with around fifty natural shallow reservoirs which are known as wil in colloquial Sinhala. The wildlife sanctuary remains a blessed land for rare wildlife species more..

Jan 9 (CT) If we preach democracy, we should practice it. That should be our utmost attempt. If someone fails in those attempts, that may be excused under certain circumstances, primarily on the basis that those would be corrected in the future. Otherwise one should gracefully retire from politics or public life. We are talking about a new constitution, that should go before the people at a referendum. That is the fundamental law of this country and that is the existing constitution. more..

Jan 9 (NR) Former Deputy Minister Sarath Kumara Guneratne arrested on charges of financial discrepancies has been further remanded till the 13th of Jan. The order was issued by Colombo Chief Magistrate when the case was taken up for hearing this morning. The bail application filed for Guneratne’s release was rejected while Court ordered the medical report of the Deputy Minister to be submitted in Court. He was arrested on the 2nd of Jan over alleged financial discrepancies more..

Jan 9 (DM) Central Bank will soon initiate a full-scale investigation into the recent allegation made by Finance Minister, Ravi Karunanayake, that the Central Bank distributed Rs. 13 billion worth of 5,000 rupee notes two days prior to the presidential election in 2015. “We are expecting to initiate a full scale investigation on this allegation. There has been an inquiry in this regard,” CB Governor, Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy said. more..