Dec 12 (DN) WHO Representative Dr. Olivia Nieveras said the WHO selected Sri Lanka to hold the World Health Day this year in recognition of the significant health achievements in Sri Lanka. The social investments such as female education in Sri Lanka has helped the country to achieve good health outcome, she said. Sri Lanka has achieved a good progress in controlling Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), mother and child care, but need to be focused on rapidly aging population. more..

Dec 12 (Island) Department of Govt Publication sales outlets are finding it difficult to meet the unprecedented demand for the 19th Amendment to the Constitution and some of them have run out of stocks; they have placed orders for more copies. The sales outlet of the Govt Publication Department at Galle has sold all the copies of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution following the recent political turmoil. An employee of the sales outlet said that many persons including more..

Dec 12 (DM) The JVP was not concerned about whoever was appointed to the premiership, as the JVP was well aware of what both Ranil Wickremesinghe and Mahinda Rajapaksa did as Prime Ministers, JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said. He told parliament that the JVP did everything possible to defeat the political coup and said whoever becomes the PM was not relevant to them. “If a new govt is appointed, more..

Dec 12 (CT) Two youngsters, who arrived on a motorbike had attempted to stab a girl who was sitting the General Certificate of Education O/L examination yesterday morning at the exam centre, located at the Moneragala Nakkala-Rajyananda Maha Vidyalaya. A group of parents had acted swiftly and disarmed them. This was confirmed by the chief invigilator of the examination centre. He said he has informed the Zonal Educational Director Sarath Gunasekara about the incident. more..

Dec 12 (NR) Estate workers in several areas have launched protests in opposition to the Chairman of the CWC and Nuwara Eliya District MP Arumugan Thondaman. The protesters claimed that MP Thondaman had instructed estate workers to call off the strike and return to services, without providing a solution to the strike held over several days, demanding a daily wage of Rs. 1,000. The protestors said the strike will not be called off until the daily wage is increased to Rs.1,000. more..

Dec 12 (DN) Federation of National Organisations Convener Dr. Gunadasa Amarasekara called on President Sirisena to hold a referendum if the Supreme Court rules against the dissolution of Parliament. He said referring the matter to the people would be wiser than referring it to the SC judges. He argued that the President has the powers to call for a referendum to seek public opinion on any matter which more..

Dec 12 (NR) IGP Pujith Jayasundara has ordered further investigations into notorious drug racketeer Ajith Weerasinghe alias, Sunil Shantha, who was arrested in Meemure after escaping from the Colombo Remand Prison, to be handed over to the CID. The Police Special Investigations Unit arrested Sunil Shantha last night after he escaped from prison on the 17th of Nov. Two female suspects and a male suspect were arrested while a cab was seized on charges of aiding more..

Dec 12 (Island) Executive Director of CaFFE, Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon warned Local Councilors of Badulla District to refrain from engaging in business dealings with their councils. Addressing Local Councilors during a workshop, he said that a case had been filed against ousted PM Ranil Wickremesinghe for being involved in a company that did business with the govt. "Earlier MP Rajitha Senaratne lost his parliament seat because the court found that he had done business with govt. more..

Dec 12 (DM) UPFA MP Keheliya Rambukwella said that they don’t accept the motion of confidence presented and passed in support of UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe in Parliament today. He said they were not in a position to accept anything done and said in an illegal and undemocratic parliament. “Anything passed in this parliament becomes null and void. That is the very reason why we have been boycotting more..

Dec 12 (DN) Lt General Mahesh Senanayake, Commander of the Army turning a new chapter for promotion of Army Cricket on Monday ceremonially, opened the newly-constructed cricket ground at SL Army Ordinance Corps Headquarters premises in Dombagoda where the finals in the Army Inter Regiment T-20 Championship were played for the first time in the new turf. The day’s Chief Guest, Commander of the Army was welcomed by Major General Bimal Vidanage, Chairman of more..

Dec 12 (PTI) Asserting that Sri Lanka was forced to surrender the sovereignty of its deep-water port, Hambantota, a powerful US lawmaker on Tuesday sought an end to the Chinese debt trap. China was defrauding small countries with nonviable infrastructure projects and was charging exorbitant rates that the poor countries could not afford, alleged Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats. more..

Dec 12 (AD) Three skeletal remains uncovered at the mass grave found in Mannar appear to have been tied with some substance, according to the JMO in charge of the inspection Dr S. Rajapaksa stated. These skeletal remains have been submitted to the Mannar Magistrate and future inspections will be carried out to identify whether the substance that had been tied to the skeletal remains is a metal or part of jewelry item, he said. more..

Dec 12 (AD) The cut-off marks for schools, following the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination have been released. The lists of the cut-off marks were released by the the school affairs branch of Ministry of Education. The results of the 2018 Grade Five scholarship examination were released on the 5th of October. The 2018 Grade Five scholarship exam was held on the 6th of August with a total of 355,326 students sitting the exam at 3,050 centres island-wide. more..

Dec 12 (AD) Railway Trade Unions have decided to launch a 48-hour token strike from midnight of 26th of December, says the Locomotive Engineering Operators’ Union (LEOU). LEOU Secretary Indika Dodangoda stated that they arrived at this decision as a proper solution was not provided for their issues regarding salaries. Railway Trade Unions accuse that even the committee appointed to fix the salary issues didn’t provide a proper solution. Dondangoda further stated that more..

Dec 12 (DM) The TNA said today that its support for the vote of confidence on UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe was conditional to the granting of power devolution to the north and the east, the release of political prisoners and the land. TNA MP for Jaffna district Dharmalingam Sidaththan told Daily Mirror that his party extended conditional support for Mr. Wickremesinghe to get the required majority to become the Prime Minister. more..

Dec 13 (DN) Sri Lanka’s constitutional crisis is now into its eighth week and continues to dominate headlines and retain public interest because, at the time of writing, the nation is awaiting the crucial determination from the Supreme Court as to whether the dissolution of Parliament by President Sirisena was constitutional or not. Submissions to the Supreme Court by the petitioners representing the UNP led UNF, JVP and TNA and the intervenient petitioners representing Prez Sirisena more..

Dec 13 (GV) Why are you asking these questions? a bystander asks. He had been watching me approach the vendors hawking their wares. Although he smiled politely as he asked, his upper lip curled, betraying his contempt. Look, he waved his arm, encompassing the entirety of Prince Street. We can walk freely here now. Now the war is over, why are you asking us about human rights? This reaction was not uncommon. In Maradana, in Pettah and in Kollupitiya, faces clouded at the very mention more..

Dec 13 (Roar) Sri Lanka’s commercial heart is Colombo, the gateway through which millions of visitors arrive each year before escaping to more remote parts of the island to experience their wonders. But Colombo itself has never been entirely about the everyday antics of the modern world and it never will. On top of being SL’s commercial capital and therefore, its most developed city, Colombo maintains a rich more..

Dec 13 (CT) The concept of presidential immunity became very much entrenched in the scope and structure of the present Constitution. Article 35(1) of the Constitution provides that: ‘While any person holds office as President, no proceedings shall be instituted or continued against him in any court or tribunal in respect of anything done or omitted to be done by him either in his official or private capacity’. 1978 Constitution essentially took away much powers of the Parliament more..

Dec 13 (CT) In Michael Ondaatje’s Running in the Family, he has a chapter called Thanikama, which signifies much more than the simple word loneliness, which it is generally translated as. There is a sense of wallowing in the emotion, the implication that the subject is essentially at home in his loneliness. It is to convey a similar implication that I use the term kapatikama here rather than cunning or even low cunning to convey the manner in which the 19th Amendment was developed more..

Dec 13 (DN) National Craft Council (NCC) in the last two years has strived to not only upgrade the national crafts industry, but also make it relevant to modern times. NCC Chairperson Heshani Bogollagama in an interview with the Daily News spoke of the importance of building the capacity of our long neglected craftsmen and women and of the need to bring in the younger generation, if our traditions are to survive. more..

Dec 13 (CT) President Maithripala Sirisena, who triggered the political crisis in Sri Lanka by appointing an MP without a parliamentary majority as the PM on Oct 26, is now slowly being pushed up against the wall. Ousted PM Ranil Wickremesinghe stamped his authority over Parliament today by demonstrating a clear majority in the House: He emerged the winner of the numbers game in Parliament, as his rival, former Prez Rajapaksa lost it not once, not twice, but six times in a row. more..

Dec 13 (DN) If you cast your vote at a general election, are you also casting it away for the next few years? That question is at the crux of the current national discourse on whether a general election should be held in the near future, or not. It is safe to say, that a majority of the people of this country want a general election at this point in time, and though that fact cannot be proven without an actual Referendum to prove it, it is safe to say it is an accurate reflection of reality, more..

Dec 13 (CT) We believe we emphasized and impressed upon our readers earlier that the tour of NZ by SL will be a very tough challenge. Their problems seem to be compounded by the fact that Pakistan has been well beaten by the Kiwis away from home after 1969. In fact the UAE was considered almost impregnable for a visiting team until SL beat the Pakistanis two games to nil in the Tests. To some extent that result can be justified as both teams were sub continental sides more..

Dec 13 (Island) The yahapalana coalition is like Mike the Headless Chicken or Miracle Mike, which reportedly lived, for one and a half years after most of his head had been cut off. President Sirisena slashed its neck one and a half months ago, so to speak, but it has survived. Whether it will break Miracle Mike’s record remains to be seen. Yesterday, it proved once again that it was far from dead by passing a motion in Parliament to prove that ousted PM Ranil Wickremesinghe had more..

Dec 13 (DM) While claiming that the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary can’t find a solution to the prevailing political impasse, UPFA MP Dullas Alahapperuma said it was only the people who could bring to an end this crisis by way of a General Election. He said these three pillars of democracy had failed to end this crisis which had almost reached its climax. “The prevailing political crisis has become worse more..

Dec 13 (Island) Sri Lanka U19 Rugby team suffered a demoralizing 18-15 defeat at the hands of Chinese Taipei in their Asia Rugby U19 Championship game played at Taipei Municipal Stadium yesterday. Playing on their home turf, Chinese Taipei commenced scoring in the ninth minute, when they slotted over a massive 45-meter penalty kick to take the early lead. With only 16 minutes on the game clock, the hosts extended their lead with the first try of the match, scored through their more..

Dec 13 (Island) The times are changing on a daily basis. Come 26th Oct the event took the whole country first by shock, then by surprise and then by anger and now after almost a month and a half, we have come into a melancholy mood that everyone finds difficult to define. The festive season is coming and we are festering in a limbo not knowing what is in store for us. One thing is sure, our politics are in shambles and no one knows who is the villain and who is the venerated as more..

Dec 13 (ST) The Colombo Dockyard PLC (CDPLC) on Tuesday laid the keel to auspiciously commence shipbuilding work on the 60 m Buoy Tender Vessel and the 50 m Twin Hull Catamaran hull Pilot Station Vessel for General Company for Ports of Iraq (GCPI) as per an agreement signed with Toyota Tsusho Corporation (TTC) of Japan. TTC is the prime contractor of GCPI for this project and more..

Dec 13 (AD) Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar today (12) heard the case against former President’s Chief of Staff Gamini Senarath and three others for allegedly misappropriating Rs 500 million in funds belong to Litro Gas. The case was taken up before the Special High Court three-judge bench comprising Justices Sampath Abeykoon, Sampath Wijeratne and Champa Rajaratne. President’s Counsel Thusith Mudalige Court recorded statements from Menaka Rajakaruna, more..

Dec 13 (MoD) Six Agraharam residential units intended for Hindu priests built with Army expertise were handed over to the owners during a brief ceremony in Karainagar, Jaffna on Sunday. According to Army media, these residences for the priests called Agraharam were constructed in response to requests by the Kovil (Temple) priests and local govt authorities. Army troops under the Security Force Headquarters-Jaffna provided technical skills and labour for the construction more..

Dec 13 (Forbes) The man who bankrolled the science-fiction film 2.0, India’s costliest movie, is a former immigrant from Sri Lanka who is now running his family's telecom, healthcare, financial services, media and entertainment conglomerate in the U.K. Meet Allirjah Subaskaran, 46, who fled Sri Lanka with his family at the height of the ethnic conflict there three decades ago, and moved first to France, and then later settled in the U.K. more..

Dec 13 (Island) One of the leading athletic coaches Sanjeeva Weerakkody led a chorus of positive feed backs after the successful conclusion of the coaching workshop conducted by the SL Schools Athletics Association at Hanwella on Tuesday. Weerakkody credited the 3-day programme for providing new knowledge on finer points of athletics coaching. "We have been able to gather lot of knowledge throughout the programme. We appreciate the efforts taken by more..

Dec 13 (DM) The UNICEF and leading online retail destination wOw.lk have partnered to launch SL’s first line of Inspired Gifts, essential supply items that when purchased online support and improve the lives of children and communities. Launching today, the 72nd anniversary of the founding of world’s leading children’s organisation, for the first-time shoppers in Sri Lanka can purchase one of twelve individual life-saving, life-changing supply items that UNICEF will directly deliver to more..

Dec 13 (FT) Hutch revealed plans to invest $ 200 million in the medium term post-merger with Etisalat to bolster 4G services and win more businesses in the highly competitive mobile telecom market. The merger was finalised last week, after it was first announced in April with Hutch being the surviving entity and brand. Hutch’s parent, the Hong Kong-based giant CK Hutchison Holdings, will own 85% stake in the merged Lankan venture, more..

Dec 13 (SM) Visit Mantai, nestled into a bay in northwestern Sri Lanka, and today you’ll see nothing but a solitary Hindu temple overlooking the sea. But 1500 years ago, Mantai was a bustling port where merchants traded their era’s most valuable commodities. Now, a study of ancient plant remains reveals traders from all corners of the world—including the Roman Empire—may have visited or even lived there. Mantai was a hub on the ancient trade networks that crisscrossed more..

Dec 13 (CT) The semi-finals of the ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2018 will be played today at the RPICS and CCC. In Group ‘A’ the unbeaten India team will meet their traditional rivals and runner-up of Group ‘B’ Pakistan at the CCC. In Group ‘B’ Bangladesh will meet the runner-up of Group ‘A’ Sri Lanka at the RPICS. Sri Lanka Emerging Team: Sammu Ashan (Captain), Avishka Fernando, Asela Gunarathne, Shehan Jayasuriya, Sandun Weerakkody, Lasith Embuldeniya, more..

Dec 13 (Island) British HC in Colombo James Dauris, on Tuesday visited the Mannar mass grave. Dauris was accompanied by several officials. The visit took place close on the heels of the discovery of two pieces of human bones, bound by a cable, on Dec 7. The latest recovery has made the experts engaged in excavating the mass grave wonder whether some of the people buried there had been tortured before being killed. more..

Dec 13 (AD) A man has been shot dead at the Galwala Junction in Sapugaskanda at around 8 pm today (12), stated the Police Media Spokesperson. Two unknown gunmen who had arrived on a motorcycle had opened fire on the victim, according to the police. The victim critically injured in the shooting had succumbed to his injuries upon admittance to the Kiribathgoda Hospital. The deceased has been identified to be a 35 year old businessman named Danushka Sanjeewa more..