May 6 (DM) Transitional Justice refers to the set of judicial and non-judicial measures that are implemented in countries which are coming out of a period of armed conflict, or state repression, and are in transition to a state of peace and good governance. Transitional justice is the process through which It is sought to redress the wrongs done, to make reparations and bring about reconciliation and non recurrence. This process includes institutional reform of those more..

May 6 (SL) Former Deputy Minister Prabha Ganeshan went head to head with a rock musician last weekend over a dispute involving parking along a private lane. Vije Dhas said he was threatened by Praba Ganeshan and his security officers outside his home. The incident, which was caught on a CCTV camera, shows the politician kicking a traffic cone near the home of NEVI’IM guitarist Vije Dhas. more..

May 6 (SL) A leading boys school has been accused of ditching fair play in favour of winning at any cost, destroying years of tradition in the process. St Peter’s College, Bambalapitiya stands accused of using an ineligible player in their 43rd traditional limited over encounter with arch rivals St. Joseph’s College on March 25 at SSC, which the former went on to win with the support of the player in question. While the school itself has maintained silence more..

May 6 (CT) Three electoral organizers of the SLFP were removed last week to give way for new organizers. Accordingly, former Minister Janaka Bandara Tennakoon lost the post of Dambulla organizer, MP Lohan Ratwatte lost Pathadumbara and MP Anura Vidanagamage lost Mahiyangana. In their place, President Maithripala Sirisena appointed Provincial Councillor W.M. Yasamanna and Chairman of more..

May 6 (ST) Temperatures across Sri Lanka are set to soar well above 38.8° Celsius in the coming weeks and the prevailing heat is expected to continue until mid-May when the south-west monsoon is expected. Rising temperatures are expected to become more common and more intense in Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, there may be some relief from scattered showers and thundershowers today, tomorrow and the day after, most likely more..

May 6 (Island) Kumara Vidugalage Dona Geetha Samanmalee Kumarasingha popularly known as Geetha Kumarasinghe is in the eye of a politico-legal storm. The glamorous actress turned politician who was elected to Parliament in August 2015 from the Galle district on the UPFA ticket has been unseated by an Appeal court ruling.  The Court of Appeal issued a Writ of Quo Warranto disqualifying the UPFA MP more..

May 6 (SL) Chinese Experts inspected the Norochcholai coal power plant last week following another breakdown at the plant. Unit one of the first coal fired power plant in Norochcholai connected to the national grid broke down  last Sunday-after it broke down on April 17. However, it was out of operation once again after it broke down on Tuesday. On Friday two Chinese experts visited Norochcholai to inspect the plant and identify more..

May 6 (ST) Despite the failure of the Central Environment Authority’s multi-billion rupee Pilisaru national solid waste management project, the Ministry of Local Govt and Provincial Councils is again planning to launch a similar project, experts on waste management claim. Last Friday, Minister Faiszer Mustapha said in Parliament that there are plans to begin kawashima Japanese composting methods at provincial levels. more..

May 6 (ST) Y.A. Sanjeewa dropped out of school at Grade five. He says his parents were too poor to keep him in school beyond that and it was more important that he went out and earned some money to help the family. He is 30 now, married with two children. His is keen to educate his children at least up to GCE O/L in school. But living in abject poverty in Nagahaweediya in Kataragama, he is unsure whether he could do that. more..

May 6 (Island) The European Union mission in Colombo yesterday said that discussions were continuing with the govt of Sri Lanka in respect of implementation of 27 International Conventions entered into by Sri Lanka. The EU was responding to a statement issued by Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP M.A. Sumanthiran denouncing proposed policy and legal framework relating to the planned Counter Terrorism Act (CTA). more..

May 6 (Island) The proceedings of the Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry investigating the alleged bond scam were thrown into turmoil yesterday due to a heated argument between Senior Additional Solicitor General Dappula de Livera, PC and the defence counsel. De Liver said that, based on the evidence given before the Commission and its findings, the culprits would be charged under the criminal law. more..

May 6 (CT) Sri Lanka has been talking about sports tourism for some time now, but never gone beyond that. Professionals in the tourism industry and other promoters of the trade, classify sports tourism as hard and soft sports. The soft sport aspect is already steady in the country, though not established to profitable levels, with sports such as snorkeling, cycling and mostly to do with leisure and are not promoted properly. The hard sports have now become the more intense of the two where more..

May 6 (CT) A very few political leaders have the foresight and spine to challenge tradition. Most of who elect to challenge, invariably end up in a mess, for the political and personal calculus they have configured have proven to be wrong or inaccurate. They, instead of creating a new tradition or convention, end up being consumed by the very tradition or convention they tried to replace. Those who succeeded did not do so by accident. It was a climax of a long drawn-out affair of more..

May 6 (DN) Attorney General Jayantha Jayasuriya PC requested Chief Justice Priyasath Dep to appoint a High Court at Bar to hear the murder of Punguduthivu Sivaloganathan Vidya. The Attorney General made a written request to the Chief Justice to appoint judges and a President of High Court at Bar under Section 450 of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act. Nine suspects were indicted on 41 counts including the abduction, gang rape, murder and being members of an unlawful assembly. more..

May 6 (PSL) President opened the latest Biomass power plant of the Tokyo Cement Group in Trincomalee, today (5). This Rs. 2.5 billion plant by Tokyo Power will add 70 GW to the national grid. Agricultural resources are utilized to generate electricity at this plant. The aim of the Govt is to increase the use of renewable energy sources to 10% for the purpose of power generation by the end of this year. Private sector also has implemented this power plant approaching that more..

May 6 (DM) Number Two in yahapalanaya held a big powwow at the Araliya Grove on the garbage mount issue the other day. Diyawanna member Mariks from the area and delegates of the affected residents also participated in the deliberations.  When the powwow was about to get underway, a purohita having a say about local and provincial administration walked in, despite not being an invitee. And the angry reaction to the latest arrival from the delegates of the affected community more..

May 6 (Island) Minister Faizer Mustapha said in Kandy that Gohagoda garbage dump would be managed and there would no disaster like the recent one at Meethotamulla. He gave the assurance at a media briefing at the office of the Central Province Chief Minister Sarath Ekanayake. Minister said there were plans for developing Kandy. The minister together with the Chief Minister and officials inspected Kandy Municipal Council’s waste dump at Gohagoda near Katugastota. more..

May 6 (AD) Two-year-old child who was recently abducted from the Gampola area has been found in Batticaloa, police said. The child was found unharmed at a house located in Urukamam in the Karadiyanaru police division.  Meanwhile a suspect has reportedly been arrested in connection with the abduction. The child’s uncle, a 26-year-old youth, who was also abducted along with the child, was released more..

May 6 (SLN) SL Navy’s Offshore Patrol Vessels, SLNS Sagara and SLNS Nandimithra left for Singapore from the Port of Colombo today (5) to take part in the International Maritime Defence Exhibition scheduled to be held in Singapore. Captain Anura Danapala of SLNS Sagara and Captain Nishantha Peiris of SLNS Nandimithra are in command of the ships as their Commanding Officers. The two ships are due to stay in Singapore from 12th to 18th May and more..

May 6 (Island) Ceylon National Chamber of Industries (CNCI), the pioneering industry chamber in the country expresses their great appreciation to the Government for its hard work throughout the past two year period in regaining the GSP Plus facility. It was so unfortunate that we have been deprived of this facility for years with which the country lost Billions of Rupees per annum from exports, especially to the EU countries. Tissa Seneviratne, Chairman of CNCI, more..

May 6 (AFP) A US equity firm that bid to buy a stake in SL's loss-making national airline has pulled its offer, as the carrier scrambled for a new partner. TPG, a San Francisco-based private equity firm, has withdrawn its bid for a 49% stake in Sri Lankan, dashing hopes of a quick revival of the airline. "After completing due diligence, regrettably TPG have informed us they will not pursue a potential investment in Sri Lankan airlines," more..

May 6 (DM) Heated arguments emerged in parliament when Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara alleged that some govt doctors who were on strike in the daytime were working at private hospitals in the evening. He displayed a receipt showing that GMOA Secretary Anurudda Padeniya had made an appointment at a leading private hospital to treat a patient at a cost of Rs.1,925 at 4.00 p.m. having organised a strike at State hospitals in the morning. JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said more..

May 6 (PSL) President Sirisena extended his best wishes to the Indian PM Narendra Modi on the occasion of India successfully launching a new communications satellite, which can be utilized by the member countries of SAARC including SL. President congratulated the Indian PM via satellite technology from President’s House in A'pura and said that this is a historic milestone to accomplish progress on cooperation and development among SAARC countries. more..

May 6 (PTI) Sri Lanka will only lease out oil tanks to India under the proposed deal to jointly operate a strategic oil facility in the eastern port district of Trincomalee, PM Ranil Wickremesinghe has said. PM said the joint working group of the two countries will formulate investment plans for the integrated development of Trincomalee. "Japan may also join in Trincomalee development," he said. more..

May 6 (DM) Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe reiterated that he was not a dual-citizenship holder and invited those who make such allegations to request the Foreign Affairs Minister or the Speaker to check who among the 225 MPs hold dual-citizenship certificates. He said even the thought of applying for dual citizenship had never crossed his mind. “I’m 61 years old now and never in my life ever thought of applying for dual-citizenship. I personally believe it’s immoral for a politician more..

May 6 (ST) Public sector employees who resign from service to contest elections will not be able to return to the same position they held, the Public Administration Ministry has announced. Ministry Secretary J.J. Rathanasiri said that the ministry secured Cabinet approval recently since it has become a bad practice in the public service where defeated candidates return to the same post. “However, they can join in any other public institution to serve the public but more..

May 6 (DM) The govt sought parliamentary approval for a supplementary estimate to cover Rs. 330 million for the purchase of vehicles for 3 cabinet ministers, 3 state ministers, a Provincial Governor and a Secretary to the PM. Among them, Rs. 43 million is for the purchase of a vehicle for Minister Thalatha Athukorala, Rs. 42 million for Minister Faiszer Musthapha and Rs. 43 million for Minister Mano Ganesan. more..

May 6 (KP) President Bidya Devi Bhandari is embarking on a 4-day official visit to Sri Lanka on Friday. At the invitation of her SL counterpart Maithripala Sirisena, President Bhandari is leaving for SL to participate in the official ceremony of the International Vesak Day celebrations to be held in Colombo on May 13. Sri Lanka has invited all the State leaders of Buddhist countries of the world to take part in the ceremony. President Bhandari will grace as chief guest in Kandy, more..

May 6 (ST) With the establishment of the Strategic Cities Development Plan coming under Minister Champika Ranawaka, plans have now been drawn to commence a Transport Hub, embracing both the Goods Shed Bus Stand and the Railway Terminal in Kandy, at an estimated cost of Rs 580 million. The terminal will be like an Airport Terminal, where everything a passenger needs would be met, be it road or railway transport. Work is scheduled to commence in January 2018. more..

May 6 (PTI) President Sirisena invoked Lord Buddha's principles to convince the Joint Opposition (JO) to drop their plan to show black flags to PM Narendra Modi during his visit here next week. Are they Buddhists? Sirisena asked with regards to those calling for the protest during Modi's visit on May 12 to Sri Lanka, a Buddhist-majority nation. The JO has called for a black flag protest during Modi's visit to take part in the celebrations more..

May 6 (CG) The office of former President Chandrika Kumaratunga today hailed cabinet approval given to Sri Lanka’s first-ever National Reconciliation Policy. President Sirisena submitted the National Reconciliation Policy drafted by the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR), Chaired by Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga, for approval by the Cabinet this week. “The decision by the Cabinet to approve the policy is historic given that this is more..

May 6 (PTI) Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene feels India's domestic structure has improved significantly in the past 10 years and thanks to the IPL, the country churns out world-class players faster than any other nation. "It (IPL) has not stopped producing young talented cricketers for the Indian set up. The process has been much far and quicker compared to other countries," said Jayawardene, who is coaching Mumbai Indians in the ongoing IPL. more..

May 6 (SCMP) Asylum seekers who sheltered former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden in Hong Kong fear they could soon be deported, while their lawyer has accused the government of a superficial screening of their cases. Ajith Pushpakumara, a former soldier from Sri Lanka who filed a claim in 2006, will have a final interview on Monday at the Immigration Department’s removal assessment section. more..

May 7 (SO) It is an annual festival usually marked by Sri Lankans with piety and simple community observances, the most active perhaps being the sightseeing of creations of religious imagery – thoran and lantern art. As post-war stability is succeeded by slow but steady economic growth, the festive Vesak zones are proliferating island wide along with increasing religious activity by the faithful. This year, Vesak in Sri Lanka is especially momentous. more..

May 7 (SL) Workers have rights and privileges. That what’s the song and dance was all about last Sunday. But one simple and stark fact was forgotten. Who is a worker? A worker is one who uses his time, energy and talents to turn out a product that has value per se and to the people. But five days after that farcical Sunday, government employed doctors of an association decided not to work but strike leaving tens of thousands of the sick to the mercies of nature because they do not more..

May 7 (SO) Two senior members of the Cabinet recently locked horns over the reported proposal to appoint Minister, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka to head a special unit allegedly to control unruly demonstrations and trade union action. News, first announced by Minister Rajitha Senaratne, stirred up a hornet’s nest, with trade unionists threatening to take to the streets in mass protests against the alleged decision. more..

May 7 (SO) On Friday, 5 May, while the senior officers of the GMOA led by Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya were not attending to their duties and breaking the Hippocrates oath they subscribed to, on the pretext of protesting against students receiving private medical education, Deputy Minister Ranjan Ramanayake made an interesting discovery. When he checked with an online service that provides channelling appointments to doctors, he found a certain Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya, more..

May 7 (ST) More than two millennia ago, India gave to Sri Lanka its greatest gift – the gift of the Dhamma. The Doctrine of the Middle Path pronounced first by India’s greatest son, Gautama the Buddha at a Deer Park in Saranath and brought to this island by the son of the great Emperor Asoka. It changed the lives of the island’s inhabitants for ever more, and this nation was to henceforth be known as the Dhammadvipa, the land of the Dhamma. more..