June 4 (ST) The billion buck question on the nation’s lips this Sunday morn is why did President Sirisena, having proudly claimed paternity to the 100-day programme designed to usher in a new democratic order for Sri Lanka, an order called Yahapalanaya, three and a half years ago; having participated at its conception even before he became exalted as president; having been present at its birth not merely as a curious spectator but as an active midhusband to ensure its safe delivery; more..

June 4 (ST) Even before the Rajapaksa Presidency passed the 18th Amendment, we had been reassured by successive Govts (with more than a hint of perfunctory condescension), that Sri Lanka’s Rule of Law institutions were working well, even if not perfectly well. Administering last rites to governance Those reassurances contrasted strangely with the actual realities. Weak laws were passed with deliberate contradictions that made it difficult for institutions created more..

Jun 4 (Roar) Digital Marketing companies are a dime-a-dozen. They’re always loaded with the latest buzzwords and promises of expanding your portfolio or hitting your bottom line. They tend to get a bit tedious. But every once in a while, a new company, or as they might put it, movement comes along that warrants attention. At present, that’s Enfection. Only just coming up to their first anniversary, Enfection is a startup more..

Jun 4 (ST) National Shooting Sports Federation (NSSF) Trap Open Meet 2018 will be held from June 21 to 24 at the Clay Target Shooting Club of Colombo, Payagala and the meet will be considered as a trial for future int'l meets. Applications will be received up to June 7 and should be addressed to the Secretary NSSF, P.O. Box 33, Colombo 7. Firearms only of 12 gauge will be allowed at the meet and will be restricted to: a) Over and Under; b) Side by side and c) Semi-Automatic and more..

Jun 4 (CT) Despite producing a pathetic level of rugby, League and Knock-out champions Kandy Sports Club emerged champions of the first leg of the Inter Club Sevens championship over-running Police by 26 points to 5 in the Cup final worked off at Race Course Grounds last evening. Kandy who missed the tournament last year fielded a strong outfit this year under the captaincy of Richard Dharmapala. They scored their points through four tries and three conversions, while more..

Jun 4 (CB) Former Test captain Hashan Tillakaratne has been appointed as Srilanka's Under-19 coach on a two-year stint. The 50-year-old takes over from another SL great, Roy Dias. Not long ago, Tillakaratne functioned as the batting coach of SL's senior side and the players credited him after their victory over Pakistan in a two-match series in UAE last year. His inputs on tackling Pakistan's spinners in particular, more..

Jun 4 (FT) Mobile service provider, Mobitel recently inked a MoU with the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS) to partner with them in providing reliable communication solutions. As per the terms of the MoU, Mobitel will provide the SLRCS with a mobile donation platform (subscription or on-demand based system) and will assist the SLRCS Disaster Response Teams to better serve disaster affected areas. “The Sri Lanka Red Cross Society is engaged in various critical functions and more..

Jun 4 (CT) Expolanka posted a 23.7% Year-on-Year (YoY) expansion in Company revenue up to Rs 18.7 billion in Q4, enabling substantial improvements in group turnover for the financial year, which increased by 22% YoY up to Rs 77.5 billion, a media release stated. As in previous quarters, Expolanka’s top line growth in Q4 was primarily driven by the logistics sector the implementation of concerted strategies aimed at driving growth in its operations. During the period in review, more..

Jun 4 (ST) Plantations Minister Navin Dissanayake is gearing up for another head-on battle with those opposing state plans to establish 20,000 hectares of oil palm in the country. He called on the rubber and oil palm industry to come up with a set of guidelines to earmark the plan for the future of the oil palm industry in Sri Lanka. He made these observations on Friday at the Rubber and Oil Palm Development of Regional Plantation more..

Jun 4 (DM) A 31-year-old Cyclist who entered and travelled two kilometers in the Southern Expressway (E01) has been taken into custody by Highway Traffic Patrol last night. The cyclist had entered into the expressway at the Galanigama Interchange via a toll gate which was closed during the time. The Cyclist had driven over the centre median and had proceeded towards Dodangoda. He was later arrested by the Highway Traffic patrol and handed over to the Bandaragama Police Station. more..

Jun 4 (CT) After worker remittances declined 1.1% during last year, Sri Lanka witnessed a 3.5% growth in inflows during the first three months of this year to US$ 1.98 billion from US$ 1.9 billion a year ago. Worker remittances during 2017 declined 1.1% to US$ 7.16 billion from US$ 7.24 billion recorded during the same period of 2016 as a result of slower growth in economic activities and adverse geopolitical conditions prevailing in the Middle Eastern region. more..

Jun 4 (Island) Hatton National Bank has syndicated a nine billion rupee loan for Western Power Company, a waste-to-energy firm, which is a unit of publicly traded Aitken Spence PLC. Bank of Ceylon, DFCC and People’s Bank joined in as co-lenders for this syndicated facility. DGM Corporate Banking of HNB, Ruwan Manatunga signed off on behalf of lead financier, together with Aruni Goonetilleke - Head of Corporate Banking of People’s Bank, more..

Jun 4 (FT) Softlogic Holdings Plc has witnessed a massive 130% rise in pre-tax profit to Rs. 3.4 billion in FY18 whilst improving revenue by 12% to Rs. 66 billion. The full-year results were aided by a strong 4Q, with PBT reaching Rs. 1 billion as against a loss before tax of Rs. 4.6 million reported in 4QFY17. Consolidated after-tax profit more than doubled to Rs. 2.6 billion in FY18 and by threefold to Rs. 643.6 million in 4Q as per interim accounts released on Friday. more..

Jun 4 (SLN) In concurrent with the National Environment Week, SL Navy assisted to clean beach and mangrove areas and accordingly, cleaning programmes were carried out at the beach areas in Eastern and Western coastal lines, today (3). Naval personnel attached to Western Naval Command in collaboration with SL Army and Lions Club conducted a cleaning campaign in the beach area around the Crow Island in Mattakkuliya and this event was supported by the general public more..

Jun 4 (EN) SL's senior-most defence official, Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne, faces imminent arrest following allegations that he shielded the main suspect in the abduction and murder of 11 children. CID told the Colombo Fort Chief Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne that Admiral Wijegunaratne during his term as navy commander had repeatedly protected the chief suspect known as Navy Sampath. more..

Jun 4 (Island) The French Spring Festival will be held in Sri Lanka between June 14 and July 14 as its 7th edition. Organized jointly by the Embassy of France in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, and the Alliance Française de Kotte in Colombo, the festival will showcase the excellence of French culture and its modern aspects during events organized both in Colombo and Kandy. During one month, different shows and events, most of them open to all, will be proposed: more..

Jun 4 (Island) The govt has received the cabinet approval to sign an agreement with the JICA to obtain a grant of Yen 265 million (Rs. 383 million), in order to implement another phase of the Human Resources Development scholarship Programme. Japanese Grant Aid for Human Resources Development Scholarship Programme was introduced in SL in 2010 by Govt of Japan in order to provide opportunities to the executive level public officials of SL to undergo Master Degree more..

Jun 4 (FT) As a potential energy crisis looms nearer with the Long Term Generation Expansion Plan (LTGEP) ferrying from one institute to the other, PM Ranil Wickremesinghe has appointed a committee to evaluate the once-rejected plan, top ministry sources confirmed. Following talks between different stakeholders both at the Presidential Secretariat and the Prime Minister’s office to end the tug of war between the Public Utilities Commission more..

Jun 4 (Hindu) It was a pleasant surprise for teachers and students of RLV Govt Upper Primary School at Thripunitura when Sri Lanka’s Women and Child Affairs Minister Chandrani Bandara joined them on the occasion of school re-opening on Friday. Ms. Bandara lit the Aksharadeepam on the occasion and interacted with teachers and students. The Sri Lankan Minister was in town along with a delegation to study the functioning of Thripunitura municipality. Teachers at the school said more..

Jun 4 (DM) UPFA MP and former Deputy Minister Sudarshini Fernandopulle is to be nominated to the Deputy Speaker’s post, sources close to the MP said today. Informed sources said many in the UPFA had welcomed this move. Former Deputy Speaker Tilanga Sumathiapla earlier claimed that President Maithripala Sirisena had wanted him to take over the post once again while there was also a report which said UPFA MP Angajan Ramanathan will be nominated to the post. more..

Jun 4 (CT) Provincial Council elections will be held before the end of the year, President Maithripala Sirisena had said yesterday. He was addressing newly appointed member to the Central Committee of the SLFP at the Ape Gama centre. Confirming this, the new General Secretary of the Party, Professor Rohana Piyadasa added that the SLFP will work tirelessly to rebuild the Party to face elections. more..

Jun 4 (NR) Post masters island wide will launch a 48 hour strike from midnight today (3). The decision was reached based on several issues including the post masters not being granted permanent employment over several years. General Secretary of the Post and Telecommunication Officers Union HK Kariyawasam said trade union action was resorted to due to futile talks between officials regarding their issues. He noted postal services will be disrupted island wide due to the strike. more..

Jun 4 (CT) The City Coroner’s Office and the Colombo National Hospital are currently embroiled in a heated stand-off following the death of a young pregnant woman on last Thursday. City Coroner Erasha Samaraweera has called for an inquiry after suspecting that medical negligence may have caused the death of the woman in Ward 39 of the hospital, and towards this end has summoned two doctors to her office on 8 June. The victim, 24-year-old Dilani Perera, a resident of Colombo 13, more..

Jun 4 (DM) CaFFE and CHR Executive Director Keerthi Tennakoon has sent a letter to Perpetual Treasuries Limited (PTL) Owner Arjun Aloysius and its CEO Kasun Palisena who are currently in remand, requesting them to release the names of 118 who had obtained funds from them. CAFFE Director in person has handed over the letter to the Prisons authorities to be sent across to the mentioned recipients. more..

Jun 4 (DN) Sri Lanka kicked off their Women's Asia Cup campaign in style, knocking Bangladesh over for 63 and then chasing down the target with five and a half overs to spare in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday. Shashikala Siriwardene, back in charge of Sri Lanka after four years in the absence of the injured Chamari Atapattu, chose to bowl. Left-arm pacer Udeshika Prabodhani justified the decision almost instantaneously, having Shamima Sultana lbw off the second ball of the match. more..

Jun 4 (DN) Commuters will benefit while the NTC will lose millions from July 1, 2018 when super luxury buses plying between Matara and Colombo on the southern expressway will reduce the fare to Rs. 460. Matara Passenger Transport Company (MPTC) Chairman Anura Helapage told a press briefing held at the Matara Rest House yesterday that super luxury Highway bus operators have been hard-hit as there has been a drastic drop in the number of commuters travelling on more..

Jun 4 (DM) A document with the names of the MPs who have had telephone conversations with Perceptual Treasuries Chief Arjun Aloysius will be tabled in Parliament this week, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya said over the weekend. Speaker Jayasuriya told Journalists that he had asked for these names from President’s Secretary Austin Fernando and the latter had obtained the approval of Attorney General to reveal more..

Jun 4 (DM) In the aftermath of World War II, the weakened colonial powers were forced by circumstances to give up physical control of their colonies. It was therefore necessary to devise new strategies to continue controlling the resources of these areas, as otherwise the resultant poverty in the imperial states would lead to discontent among its peoples leading to conflict, unrest and uprisings in those countries. The Middle East, awash with vast oil and petroleum resources has always been more..

Jun 4 (DM) In this column, my articles have drawn attention to the failure of reconstruction and the escalating problem of indebtedness in the post-war North. My understanding of the economy of the East is limited to insights gained through periodic visits, which suggest that the dynamics of the economy may be quite different. Given my limited engagement in the East, my comments here are tentative. The message from a cross section of people from the District Secretariats, more..

Jun 4 (DM) Cuba’s National Assembly elected Miguel Diaz-Canel as the country’s President in April. Diaz-Canel followed Raul Castro who served two consecutive terms from 2008 when the health of his brother Fidel was in decline. Fidel Castro, who led the 1959 revolution that overthrew Fulgencio Batista’s dictatorship and ruled the country since died in 2016. The Daily Mirror talked to Cuba’s Ambassador in Colombo, more..

Jun 4 (FT) Plantation Industries Minister Navin Dissanayake said steps would be taken to officially remove the ban imposed on glyphosate for tea and rubber via a gazette notification issued within the next two weeks. “We are now getting ready to publish the gazette de-banning this (glyphosate) weedicide. Within the next two weeks the weedicide will be distributed to the market via CPC outlets countrywide,” he said. more..

Jun 4 (CT) “In Colombia, there was an internal conflict for 50 years which caused massive destruction and loss of lives. In one of these cases we had a mother who lost her son. Her son disappeared and after investigation we found out that he had died. The body was lost in the war so we couldn’t recover it. But the mother kept on waiting. The other sons told her that their brother had passed away but the mother said, ‘give me his body more..

Jun 4 (ST) Lakvijaya coal power plant in Norochcholai does not have a valid scheduled waste management licence as required by law for a facility that generates hazardous matter, says an explosive report by an organisation called Coalition against Coal (CAC). Campaign against coal is growing after the Cabinet recently sanctioned a new electricity policy that includes the generation of 30 percent of energy through fossil fuel. more..

Jun 4 (CT) Sri Lanka is gradually becoming a ‘dumping ground’ for low quality imports, as there is a surge in the number of substandard imported commodity shipments arriving in the country, Director of Health Dr. Sapumal Dhanapala claims. Speaking to Ceylon Today regarding the case of inferior shipment of canned fish that had arrived in the country and was in the custody of SL Customs awaiting to be re-shipped to the exporter, more..

Jun 4 (AD) Presidential Commission appointed to investigate financial irregularities which are said to have taken place at SriLankan Airlines, SriLankan Catering (Pvt.) Limited and Mihin Lanka Airlines, commenced recording of evidence today. The company Registrar and an official were summoned before the commission to record statements this morning, Commission’s Secretary, Ariyadasa Coorey said. more..

Jun 4 (CT) The Engineers’ Union of the Ceylon Electricity Board has decided to launch an indefinite island-wide strike until the Government moves to enact the Least Cost Long Term Generation Expansion plan (LCLTGEP). Executive committee member of the Union, Athula Wanniarachchi said that the decision was taken at the special council meeting last Friday (1), with the participation of over 500 engineers from around the island. more..

Jun 4 (DN) Epidemiology Unit Director Dr. Anil Dissanayake said the number of patients with suspected or confirmed influenza have decreased significantly. “The number of patients have reduced. Yet we are vigilant of the outbreak of influenza. We are collecting statistics and have alerted every hospital in the country and have provided them guidelines on how to act in such situations,” he said. more..

Jun 4 (Island) Former Secretary to the Ministry of Transport and academic, Dr. Lalithasiri Gunaruwan criticised the govt’s decision to privatise the railway service in the Hambantota District. He said the sale of strategic assets to foreign companies had become a national policy for all practical purposes. The Cabinet last week approved a proposal to call for an international tender to build a 100 km railway line linking more..

Jun 4 (DM) The name of a prominent state minister and a leading female politician from Colombo have surfaced in the list of politicians who had reportedly received money from PTL chief Arjun Aloysius. CID have come up with these names after having checked numerous bank accounts and related documents in their custody. More details of this state minister, presently said to be maintaining a close relationship with the leaders of JO, more..