Mar 3 (CT) Mount Lavinia Magistrate has ordered senior journalist Keith Noyahr to be present in Court for the identification parade of the suspects, who abducted him in 2008, when he was the Deputy Editor of The Nation Newspaper. The five suspects who were arrested and remanded last month, was ordered to be further remanded till March 16, 2017 today by the Magistrate when the case was taken up. Magistrate had informed that Noyahr’s presence was important to identify the suspects. more..

Mar 3 (CT) Economynext, a website, on its Wednesday's edition, quoting TNA spokesman M.A. Sumanthiran, had said: "We have requested the member countries and the High Commissioner for Human Rights that although the 18 months time has lapsed...Sri Lanka must be encouraged and made to accomplish every one of those undertakings that they agreed to. To that extent, Sri Lanka has to be given further time...." ...."With the help of all...with patience, understanding, and constant more..

Mar 3 (DM) European Union Ambassador, Tung-Lai MARGUE, in an interview with the Daily Mirror, outlines that the current govt is on the right track and has made many improvements. He also articulates the EU position on the GSP+ trade facility and future cooperation. How do you look at the present status of relations between EU and SL? A: We all know there has been a tremendous improvement in our relationship since 2015. more..

Mar 3 (Island) The Colombo High Court Judge Gihan Kulatunga, on Wednesday, gave the Attorney General time till March 6, to consider whether to revise the indictment, in respect of Anusha Palpita and Lalith Weeratunga, accusing them of misuse of public property under Section 5 (1) of the public property act. The defence argued that the public property Act, which flowed from the Penal Code Act Section 5(1) of the public property, was not interpreted in the Penal Code. more..

Mar 3 (DM) Kalutara Chief Magistrate Bharathi Wijeratne yesterday called for a report on telephone conversations that took place between individuals inside the prison and those outside on the day the Black Maria carrying inmates from the Kalutara Prison was ambushed, which led to the deaths of five prisoners and two prison officials. The prisoners were being transported from the Kalutara Prison to the Kaduwela Courts when an unidentified gang attacked the bus. more..

Mar 3 (Island) Minister Rajitha Senaratne has said that the fine on those found guilty of mosquitoes breeding will be increased from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 25,000. Addressing a batch of 500 newly recruited Dengue Mosquitoes Control Assistants, for deployment in the Western Province, he said the Prevention of Mosquito Breeding Act had been amended to allow govt employees engaged in dengue control work to inspect houses more..

Mar 3 (Island) The GMOA will launch a strike today (3) in protest against the SAITM. GMOA Secretary Dr Naveen D. Zoysa yesterday said that members of the GMOA and all those opposed to the private medical would gather outside the National Hospital and march to Vihara Maha Devi Open Air Theatre at 1.00 pm today. A GMOA strike crippled hospitals in the Northern Province for four hours yesterday. However, all emergencies and patient admissions were carried out. more..

Mar 3 (DN) Minister Faiszer Musthapha said he was satisfied with the highly controversial Delimitation Committee report and believed it to be fair to all. Amendments to the Local Authorities (Special Provisions) Act of No 21 of 2012 however are yet to be made and though the minister believes that this can be done soon, it will further delay the local government elections expected this year. Excerpts follow: Q: What is happening to the Delimitation Committee report? more..

Mar 3 (EN) Sri Lanka central bank said all Treasury bonds issued on behalf of the govt have full legal authority and effect and that it had complied with the intent of the regulations under which they were issued. The banking regulator said in a statement it will be making recommendations to the govt on suitable amendments to the regulations known as the Registered Stock and Securities Ordinance or RSSO. more..

Mar 3 (CT) Transparency International, Sri Lanka (TISL)’s much hyped Information Requests under Right to Information (RTI) Act regarding the Assets Declarations of President Maithripala Sirisena and PM Ranil Wickremesinghe have been filed to the Wrong Public Authorities, the Colombo Telegraph learns. Under Section 3 of the RTI Act, information requests can be filed in the relevant Public Authority having possession, custody or control of the information asked for. more..

Mar 3 (Island) Colombo Magistrate Jeyaram Trotsky yesterday ordered several banks to submit details about the credit cards used by the late Wasim Thajudeen. The Senior State Counsel Dilan Ratnayake requested the court to order the banks to submit credit card details so that the CID could find out whether anyone else had used those credit cards after Thajudeen’s death. Credit card details would help the CID trace the killer, the Senior State Counsel said. more..

Mar 3 (GDI) Top officials of the Sri Lankan Police today while condemning the baseless statements by some interested parties assured that the country’s security has not been threatened due to a few incidents which took place recently. Referring to the recent incidents that took place in Kalutara and at Mt. Lavinia court premises, Police Media Spokesman DIG Priyantha Jayakodi said that the Law & Order more..

Mar 3 (MoD) Sri Lanka Air Force is celebrating its 66th anniversary today (2). The main parade was held at the Air Force Headquarters under the patronage of Commander of Air Force Air Marshal Kapila Jayampathy. SLAF is the successor of Royal Ceylon Air Force which was established on 2nd March 1951. A number of special events were held in view of the anniversary celebrations. SLAF board of management, officers, other ranks and civil staff were also present at the occasion. more..

Mar 3 (NR) The token strike launched by the Govt Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) at hospitals in the Western Province has been extended till 8am tomorrow. Media Spokesperson of the GMOA Dr. Samantha Ananda attributed the extension on authorities failing to provide a positive response over the issue surrounding the SAITM. The GMOA launched a token strike at hospitals in the Western Province at 8 this morning. It was scheduled to conclude at noon today. more..

Mar 3 (OHCHR) The slow pace of transitional justice in Sri Lanka and the lack of a comprehensive strategy to address accountability for past crimes risk derailing the momentum towards lasting peace, reconciliation and stability, according to a report issued by the UN Human Rights Office today. The report acknowledges that there have been positive advances on human rights and constitutional reform. more..

Mar 3 (Island) Environmentalist Ravindra Kariyawasam said that Sri Lanka had entered into an agreement with 36 countries including China, India to create a road network here to be completed before 2030 in order to make this country naval, air, economic, energy and an education hub in the world with World Bank assistance. He said that the agreement envisaged the construction of the Matara-Hambantota, Kandy-Colombo, Mannar-H'tota & H'tota-Ampara Highways more..

Mar 3 (MoD) Tri forces and Police are continuing with operations to arrest tri forces personnel considered as Absent Without Official Leave (AWOL). Since the end of the last General Amnesty period that ended on midnight, 31st Dec (2016) authorities have arrested 1500 deserters till 1st of March (2017). According the Military Spokesman Brigadier Roshan Seneviratne, 3 officers and 1149 other ranks of the Army, 327 Navy and 21 Air Force deserters have been arrested so far. more..

Mar 3 (CG) Sri Lanka says it is studying the report on Sri Lanka by Special Rapporteur on Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, on his Mission to SL, with due diligence and will also look to prevent and combat torture. Report on SL, which was formally submitted to the UNHRC today during the 34th session, found that while the practice of torture was less prevalent, and the methods used were more..

Mar 3 (DN) SLFP Youth Front condemned Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami’s statement that he would support for a separate independent state for Tamils in Sri Lanka, SLFPYF President Shantha Bandara said. “We urge him not to interfere in the affairs of other countries, but to uplift the poor people in TN,” Bandara said. He said that new the Chief Minister should at least solve the toilet problem of those people. We condemn his statement which has been made at a time more..

Mar 3 (DN) Bangladesh High Commissioner Riaz Hamidullah and PM Ranil Wickremesinghe Bangladesh High Commissioner to Sri Lanka M. Riaz Hamidullah, during a meeting with PM Ranil Wickremesinghe underscored the need to focus on economic and trade relations between the two countries. He apprised the Prime Minister that, in areas such as merchandised trade, finance, investment, shipping, agriculture, fisheries, tourism etc., have considerable potential. more..

Mar 3 (AD) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe today said that he thinks that establishing a hybrid Supreme Court to probe the allegations of human rights violations during the conflict with the LTTE, is not practical. “What we have done in the last two years is to correct the position and we are now negotiating a rollover for the next two years so that we could take the remaining actions.” more..

Mar 3 (NS) Information security engineers have called on the public using the internet, electronic mail and social media accounts to be wary of fraudulent online communications involving gifts including foreign trips for the taking, lottery schemes and attempts to partner in inheritance-related matters. SL Computer Emergency Readiness Team (SLCERT) noted that the public should be made aware of precautions to be taken to be safe online & thereby to prevent users from falling victim. more..

Mar 3 (DN) The writ petition filed by Perpetual Treasuries Private Limited, a primary dealer in govt securities seeking an Interim Order restraining Central Bank from taking action under the directives issued by the Monetary Board of Centarl Bank was re-fixed for support on March 8 by Court of Appeal. This petition had been filed by Perpetual Treasuries, Perpetual Asset Management and Perpetual Capital Holdings through counsel G.G. Arulpragasam. Petitioners further sought an order quashing more..

Mar 3 (DM) Former CB Governor Arjuna Mahendran had recommended that the Rs.11.75 billion bid made at the bond auction be ignored and instead the Rs.10 billion be accepted instead, CB Statistics Department Additional Director Dr. M.Z.M. Aazin today told the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) inquiring into CB bond issue. He testified that documents relating to these recommendations had not been submitted more..

Mar 4 (CT) We may need India’s backing in the international arena in time to come. We may need India’s help to persuade the more extreme elements in the Tamil leadership community to adhere to this and reject that. We may need India’s support to sustain a more enduring peace, not as it is today- a mere absence of war and militancy- we might even need India’s whole-hearted patronage to convince the world leaders not to interfere with our internal political matters at all. more..

Mar 4 (CT) One of the pledges made by the present Govt in its election manifesto titled The Five Point Plan for creating a new country in 60 months has been the delivery of economic democracy to people. In the preamble to the manifesto, the party has emphasised that the restoration of the proposed social market economy is akin to the expansion of the frontiers of the economy alias delivery of economic democracy to people. This is a noble pledge, but no one had properly more..

Mar 4 (CT) Dr. Tilak Siyambalapitiya believes that cancellation of the Sampur Power Project by the highest echelons of this govt had cost the country dearly; with the power crisis being aggravated by the failures of both the South-west and North-east monsoons and the resulting drought. This year hydropower generation will decline to 30% and in a very bad monsoonal year, the figure, will go down to around 20%. more..

Mar 4 (CT) Leader of the TNA Leader R. Sampanthan reiterating his commitment towards strengthening the reconciliation process has said that Sri Lanka should be given time with conditions to fulfil its commitments vis a vis the UNHRC resolution of 2015 which was cosponsored by the island nation. TNA Leader had not only shown his political maturity, he has also highlighted his commitment towards not toppling apple cart in an arduous effort of reaching a durable solution more..

Mar 4 (SL) Former President Rajapaksa issued a press release earlier last week criticising the appointment of R. Kannan, a member of the private bar, as a High Court judge. While Mahinda Rajapaksa has the right to express his opinion, I believe that it is necessary to point out a number of glaring lies, misinformation and creative interpretations of reality that was strewn across Rajapaksa’s press release. I also believe that it’s time to look at how independence of judiciary more..

Mar 4 (NS) India’s traditional stance on the national question took a different turn if one was to go by statements made by the Foreign Secretary of India during his recent tour to Sri Lanka. How are local politicians representing the interests of Tamils to interpret the rather contentious comments made and what positions should they take in this regard? Elsewhere, Local Govt election is akin to Waiting for Godot. more..

Mar 4 (NS) Sri Lanka lost seven lives in a matter of minutes on Feb 27 when a prison bus was attacked in a typical gangland style seen only in Hollywood flicks. Attack was well planned out and well executed which left the police and the prison officials baffled and confused. The dead were mostly prison inmates, including prominent underworld figure Aruna Udayashantha alias Samayan, and two prison officials. Attack occurred when they were on the way to Kalutara Courts. more..

Mar 4 (NS) Outrage over inhumane offences in Sri Lanka’s universities swept the nation as details of recent appalling atrocities brought more pressure on the authorities to find a sustainable solution to the age-old plague of ragging. In the latest revelation, according to reports, senior students had set up a torture chamber outside the Peradeniya campus. The campaign against ragging is not merely a kill-joy crusade against innocuous orientation traditions in our higher seats of learning. more..

Mar 4 (Island) Joint Opposition (JO) big guns have trained their propaganda cannon on Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake. He is being raked over the coals for a gazette the government has issued on the controversial bond sales, with former President Rajapaksa’s name thereon, about two years after his defeat in 2015. They are threatening to sue Karunanayake, who is daring them to do so. Never a dull moment! Minister Karunanayake is not fit to hold the finance portfolio and, more..

Mar 4 (Island) The term ethnic can be defined in a hundred ways without any one of them commanding unanimous assent. But there is broad agreement about what are the components that constitute ethnicity. One of them is language. Ethnic groups defined in terms of language – though with some exceptions - constitute the states that form the Indian union. Ethnic groups can also be defined in terms of religion. In the pre-1947 Indian sub-continent all Bengalis spoke same language more..

Mar 4 (Island) This being World Hearing Day, a team of hearing researchers was studying the different levels of hearing in politics, especially on subjects that were of interest to the people after what was called Rainbow Revolution of Jan 8, 2015. Corruption was an obvious topic of interest. So that was the first topic raised with the nearest politician, from the govt. What do you think of fight against corruption, was the question. more..

Mar 4 (Dawn) Early morning on March 3, 2009 a bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team headed to Lahore's Qaddafi Stadium for Day Three of their second Test match against Pakistan was targetted by militants. Pakistan's millions of cricket fans rue the deplorable attack, especially since it deprived an entire generation of experiencing first-hand what is arguably the most celebrated game in the country. As the Pakistan Super League final approaches, the memory of March 3, 2009 has more..

Mar 4 (Island) A determined knock of 124 runs by Jehan Daniel helped St. Joseph’s recover from a dramatic collapse to post 205 runs against arch rivals St. Peter’s on day one of the 83rd Battle of the Saints encounter at P. Sara Oval on Friday. Deciding to bat first the Joes lost their first five wickets for a meager 10 runs before the Sri Lanka Under-19 player scored arguably the most decisive knock in a Joe-Pete during this decade. The Joes pressed the panic button after opener more..

Mar 4 (Roar) A few decades ago, the pavements of Union Place were lined with artisans and traders. The most aristocratic among them were the locksmiths, calling themselves key cutters. Today, only a few continue to ply their trade. One of the oldest is Imtiyaz, who works from his cart, parked on the pavement, next to the bus halt in front of a venerable Slave Island institution, Ceylon Boot Manufactory. more..

Mar 4 (CT) Ananda College and Nalanda College will be fielding teams of equal strength when they clash for their 88th annual cricket encounter at the SSC ground on 4 and 5 March. However, Nalanda has won five matches outright out of the 17 encounters they played in this season. They lost one match against Thurstan College while winning five matches on the first innings. On the other hand Ananda College have won only four matches out of the 17 fixtures they had this season. more..