Mar 17 (ST) Sri Lanka has made many great strides in the gem business following the acquiring of knowledge in transforming Geuda (semi-precious stones) into high value precious stones such as Blue Sapphires, White Sapphires, Rubies and Yellow Sapphires while heat treating it under either reducing or oxidising conditions. But for decades, Sri Lankan gem miners had discarded Geuda stones as worthless material. Thai traders visiting the country at that time bought that material in bulk more..

Mar 17 (Island) Sri Lanka batsman Dinesh Chandimal surprised many when he rated his century against Bangladesh yesterday ahead of his stunning hundred against Australia last year and his career-best unbeaten 162 against India a year before. Among Chandimal’s eight Test hundreds are some astonishing knocks, but the 27-year-old rated his 300-ball 138 in the first innings of the second Test at P. Sara Oval as his best. Last year when Steve Smith’s side toured the island, more..

Mar 17 (PSL) President says all institutions that trade in consumer goods including food should act with an understanding of their human responsibilities rather than merely depending on the govt regulations and laws to govern them. “The standard of the consumer goods is the main measuring scale of the development of a country. Even today the kitchens of some restaurants island wide including Colombo more..

Mar 17 (CI) Fast bowlers bowling from both ends, light fading quickly and a tailender at the other end; you knew for years that even in this sort of a situation, Thilan Samaraweera would keep Sri Lanka safe at the end of a day's play. He thrived under pressure for much of his career, always ensuring that his own style would be shelved if the team needed patience in the middle. At the P Sara Oval four years ago, he batted with Suraj Randiv against New Zealand in fading light and negotiated more..

Mar 17 (DC) George Keyt (1901 - 1993) is rightly regarded as an icon of modern art, a demi-God in Sri Lanka. A Cubist painter, Keyt’s works have often been compared with the likes of Picasso (entrenched as they are in mythology from the subcontinent) and his contemporary,  Henri Matisse. Still, running a google search for an interview of the man throws up surprisingly few results, save for an obituary written by his dear friend, Martin Russell. Much is known about Keyt the painter, more..

Mar 17 (FT) Sri Lanka yesterday made its strongest effort to woo interest from Hong Kong-based companies, fund managers and investors, highlighting recent macroeconomic progress as well as measures to boost higher inclusive growth from which foreign firms could benefit. The concerted effort by the private and public sector was made at the full-day SL Investment Summit in Hong Kong, more..

Mar 17 (CT) Death row inmate big-time drug peddler Potta Naufer aka Mohammad Niyaz Naufer, who is serving time at the Dumbara, Bogambara Prison, was admitted last morning to the Kidney Treatment Unit of the Kandy Hospital. Naufer had refused to receive in-house treatment. He had then been transferred to Ward 66 of the Kandy Hospital where medical specialists have said that it was imperative the suspect is provided with in-house treatment at the kidney unit for his ailment. more..

Mar 17 (Island) A set of proposals jointly prepared by the GMOA, Medical Faculty Lecturers Association (MFLA) and Medical Faculty Heads Association (MFHA) submitted to the President was taken up for discussion on Wednesday. University lecturers said the proposals had been prepared with the objective of resolving what they called the SAITM crisis. The issues raised with the President by the academics and doctors were the deterioration of standards of medical science more..

Mar 17 (Island) Supreme Court was informed that MPs representing all political parties had caused losses amounting to over Rs 7 bn by selling duty free vehicle permits without proper legal sanction. Among them are members of the yahapalana administration, TNA as well as the JO loyal to former President Rajapaksa. Bench comprised CJ Priyasath Dep, Justice Sisira de Abrew and Justice Priyantha Jayawardena. more..

Mar 17 (NS) Most bus drivers are asleep in their  buses  around 11.00 am. Palitha who works a Kandy-Colombo bus said he works 22 days a month and has been working since the 1980s. On that day they had left Kandy at 5.45 am reaching Colombo around 9.15.  The next trip was at 2.30 pm. A lot of the bus drivers were asleep or refused to comment because they wanted to sleep before the next trip. A bus driver working in a Wilachchiya-Colombo bus said he leaves Wilachchiya in A'pura, more..

Mar 17 (DM) Marina is an unheard name to many Sri Lankans, but not anymore. Dr. Dietmar Doering, a German hotelier based in Marawila, is venturing into establishing a first-ever marina in Marawila. He pioneered sports tourism in Sri Lanka nearly three decades ago by establishing Asian-German Sports Exchange Programme; now it’s his turn for enhancing nautical tourism in Sri Lanka. Minister John Amaratunga also has given the green light to make this marina venture a success. more..

Mar 17 (DM) Govt could not only bring in foreign judicial officers under the existing constitution but they were also looking at all their options where the recommendation of the UNHRC was concerned, Minister Mangala Samaraweera said. He neither confirmed nor denied the inclusion of foreign judicial officers in the judicial process of the country. However, he pointed out that the inclusion of such officers were in fact more..

Mar 17 (DN) With fresh dengue cases being reported every day, govt hospitals in Kinniya and Trincomalee are finding it difficult to keep up with the rush of patients due to inadequate infrastructure. Patients with symptoms similar to dengue continue to line up at govt hospitals and inwards patients face many inconveniences due to lack of space even to sit or sleep in the hospitals. Eastern Provincial Health Minister A.L.M. Nazeer visited the Kinniya hospital to look into the facilities more..

Mar 17 (FT) This week’s auction offerings totalled 5.3 M/kgs with Low Growns meeting excellent demand while High and Medium Grown small leaf teas witnessed a bearish trend, Forbes and Walker said in their latest tea report. Ex-Estate offerings totalled a 0.8 M/kgs. Overall the quality of teas from the Western planting sector was irregular while teas from other regions were mostly similar to last. Best Western BOP/BOPF’s were irregularly easier, particularly thin liquoring or seasonal teas. more..

Mar 17 (CT) Trump Govt says it has worked in close consultation with the UK, Montenegro, Macedonia and SL, which co-sponsored the UN resolution and is looking forward to the adaptation of the new draft that will be tabled on March 22, 2017. US invites like-minded UNHRC member, countries to support the new resolution to support SL whose govt earlier this week urged UNHRC core group to give SL a 24-month extension to more..

Mar 17 (EN) SL consumer authority has sealed 30 motor spare parts shops for not price marking product and Minister Rishard Bathiudeen said further raids will be carried out. Some shops were also claiming Chinese made parts to be made in Germany and Japan. After checking the country of origin, the shop keepers will be charged in courts. The Consumer Affairs Authority also polices Sri Lanka's price controls, some of which were expanded from the ousted Rajapaksa regime. more..

Mar 17 (CT) Sri Lankan representatives of the shipping company, which owns the hijacked Aris-13, are ready to pay any ransom demanded for the safe return of the eight Sri Lankan sailors being held hostage. Tiron Fernando, a representative of the shipping company said that the mother company is ready to pay any ransom demand made by the Somali pirates, who have hijacked the Sri Lankan-flagged fuel tanker, if the safe return of the sailors is guaranteed. more..

Mar 17 (Reuters) Somali pirates released a hijacked oil tanker and its eight Sri Lankan crew on Thursday, a Somali security official and the pirates said, bringing the first hijacking since 2012 to an unusually swift conclusion without the payment of a ransom. The release followed a gunfight earlier in the day between the pirates and the marine force, and then intensive negotiations between the marine force, clan elders and the pirates. more..

Mar 17 (CT) Joint Opposition and SLFP Hambantota District MP Namal Rajapaksa has decided to file legal action, in the District Court, against former President Chandrika Kumaratunga for having defamed his character in public. The SLFP MP has charged that the former President had alleged that he had deposited a sum of US$ 1,000 million in a bank in Dubai, besides having similar accounts in banks in several countries, thus causing irreparable damage to his public image. more..

Mar 17 (DN) President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday said that Minister Mahinda Amaraweera will be given a better ministry other than the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to serve the people in a better way. He said that he is prepared to make a change in his Cabinet portfolio, if having three ministers in charge of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources from Tangalle electorate has become an issue. “I think there should be a change in the Cabinet portfolio as more..

Mar 17 (Island) Assistant Governor of the CB, H.A. Karunaratne, said the transfers of key officers within the institution after Arjuna Mahendran assumed duties as its Governor on Feb 23, 2015 had shaken the very foundations of the CB. During that period 14 heads of department had been transferred along with 20 other key persons and the total number of transfers effected during that period stood at 501. more..

Mar 17 (DM) Although basically selfish, the world economic system teaches us that happiness means personal gain accumulating more and more with power, prestige and popularity. All major religions teach something totally different. The essential religious teaching is that we will have lasting inner happiness when we speak, live and act in a manner that makes others happy. Buddha Dhamma especially goes deeper to say, May all beings be happy. That means not only making other more..

Mar 17 (DM) Ali Shariati was the ideologue of the Iranian Revolution. It was Shariati’s liberation theology- a rationalization of Marxism through the lenses of Islam that propelled Ayathollah Khomeni’s take-over of power in 1979 overthrowing the Pahlavi dynasty. Shariati’s politics was anti- imperial and Marxist with a firm base in Islamic liberation theology, distinct from the theology Islamism has since come to be known for. Since the overthrow of the Socialist Oriented PM Mossadeq more..

Mar 17 (DM) The election of Attorney-at-Law U.R. De Silva as the new president of the Bar Association of SL was accepted by Solicitor General Suhada Gamlath, after what appears to have been a stormy campaign. De Silva won by a narrow margin, saying he would have won far more votes if not for the keen contest. These developments reflected an unprecedented attempt to politicize the campaign that De Silva said more..

Mar 17 (Economist) I Still believe he's alive, says Tharsini Santhirabose with a glazed, fixed smile. She last saw her husband, a fellow guerrilla for LTTE, in the final days of civil war that ended with the Tigers' obliteration in 2009. Up to 40,000 civilians were killed, according to UN, along with most of the remnants of the 10,000-strong separatist army and perhaps 5,000 hangers-on. Chances that Ms Santhirabose's husband more..

Mar 17 (ST) Sri Lanka has made significant progress in eliminating child labour, but much needs to be done to rescue more than 43,000 children who are still being employed as cheap labour — most of them in hazardous sectors, according to a countrywide survey report. It said that despite tough laws, child labour was being used in farming, herding, producing bricks, mining, carpet weaving, in quarries and construction sites. more..

Mar 17 (Island) The SAITM issue could be solved in a very practical and simple manner, Deputy Minister Karunarathna Paranavithana said. He said that those who were studying at SAITM with qualifications should be given the medical degree as agreed by Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC). "But there is one condition. They should sit the Examination for Registration to Practise Medicine (ERPM). more..

Mar 17 (LBO) Renovation of the BIA runway is expected to be completed ahead of schedule, the minister of transport and civil aviation said. “The govt invested around US$ 49 million in the renovation and we need to thank our official for completing this work ahead of time,” Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said. “We have now completed about 80% of the runway repairs, this means that we will be a bit ahead of schedule more..

Mar 17 (DN) The govt should intervene to prevent and control the spread of dengue with the assistance of entomologies, LSSP General Secretary Prof. Tissa Vitharana said. “The eradication of dengue should be a collective responsibility of the govt as well as that of the general public,” he said. Dengue fever has become an epidemic in the country today. “Around 59 schools in Kinniya educational zone in Trinco more..

Mar 17 (Island) Civil society groups that campaigned for Maithripala Sirisena at the Jan 2015 presidential poll, have stepped up their campaign for a new constitution. The project gets underway against the backdrop of members of the Geneva-based UNHRC reaching consensus as regards a new resolution to give space for Sri Lanka to introduce constitutional reforms and address accountability issues. Twice President Chandrika Kumaratunga, more..

Mar 17 (EN) Thishya Weragoda is an Attorney at Law of Supreme Court who has done what few citizens would dare, or bother, to do – got a mobile phone operator to block unsolicited New Year greetings from the president. Successive presidents have been in the habit of unfailingly sending New Year texts greetings to all Sri Lankans with mobile phones using SMS (short message service) on digital mobile networks. more..

Mar 17 (EN) Sri Lanka is planning to call bids for a 100 MegaWatt floating solar farm with battery storage, as electric tech firm Tesla offered to build battery storage for the Australian power grid. Cabinet of ministers has given the go ahead to call international tender for a 100 MegaWatt floating solar farm in Maduru Oya reservoir which is expected to cover an area of 500 acres of the 15,790 acre water body. more..

Mar 17 (DM) Lanka Hospital authorities today categorically rejected rumours circulating on social media websites that Maldivian patients diagnosed with swine flu had been admitted to the hospital and that several of them had died. Group CEO Dr. Prasad Medawatte said only 12 Maldivian were currently undergoing treatment -- 10 were surgical operations and two were for general medical care but there were none admitted more..

Mar 17 (CT) The other day President Maithripala Sirisena and PM Ranil Wickremesinghe participated in a ceremony at the BMICH to commemorate the Great October Revolution which saw the overthrow of Tsar Nicholas II that ended the 1,800-year monarchy of imperial Russia and the institution of Communism under Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. Marxism in Russia however, had a short history of only 72 years and died a natural death after the collapse of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. more..

Mar 17 (CT) The official website of the President of Sri Lanka, reporting on a statement recently made by Maithripala Sirisena says thus: even though some sections of the society entertain the thought that the present govt would collapse today or tomorrow, he would not allow any room for it and he further stated that the Govt will fulfill its duties and responsibilities within the appropriate time frame in accordance with the mandate of the people. For a fantasy promoted by the defeated set more..

Mar 17 (EN) SL leisure sector wants to boost daily flights to the country to 130 a day from the current 80 and cut costs, the tourism ministry said following a strategy meeting with PM Ranil Wickremesinghe. Following a meeting with 38 tourism sector firms and key govt officials, an open skies policy more direct flights to key market and competitive landing and parking fees to incentivise low-cost airlines, was advocated. There was an intention to boost daily flights to 130 a day from the current 80, more..

Mar 17 (AD) Police are yet to locate the persons who had directly involved in the Kalutara shooting on 27 Feb, however as of today the investigating teams have apprehended two including a woman on the allegation of aiding the crime. CID has apprehended a woman in Walahanduwa, Galle last night (16) for allegedly providing a hideout for a suspect. Apart from that, another individual was also apprehended after the police found his involvement in giving a tip-off to the gang members, more..

Mar 17 (CI) 109: The previous highest first-innings lead for Bangladesh in away Tests, which they took against Zimbabwe in Harare in 2013. This is only the third occasion when Bangladesh have taken a lead of 100 or more runs in away Test. The first such instance came against Pakistan in Multan in 2003 when they took a lead of 106 runs. 6: Number of times before this Bangladesh had taken a first-innings lead in an away Test. The previous instance had come recently in Wellington, more..