Mar 10 (FT) MP M.A. Sumanthiran was a panellist at Panel Discussion on Mindfulness in Policy Making, Governance and Diplomacy on day two of the Global Mindfulness Summit 2018 held at the SL Foundation Institute. He added colour to the panel discussion and said he would reveal a secret. It was announced sometime ago that for a period of one hour of every day, there would be a live streaming of the sessions of Parliament. This was a precursor to the current unrestricted live streaming of more..

Mar 10 (GDI) The Japan Sri Lanka Friendship Association presented a Fire Engine and an Ambulance to the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) at a ceremony held at Air Force Headquarters (AFHQ) on 7th March 2018. A visiting delegation ceremonially handed over the documents pertaining to the vehicles to the Chief of Staff of SLAF Air Vice Marshal Sumangala Dias during the ceremony. The handing over was done by Sugiyama Fumiyasu, the President of the Motosu Lions Club. more..

Mar 10 (GDI) A program to provide compactor vehicles to local govt bodies in the Western Province was commenced with the patronage of President Sirisena yesterday (9) at the Independence Square. A total of 29 compactor vehicles valued at Rs. 393 million were handed over to 22 LG institutions. They were handed over symbolically by the Prez. These vehicles would be utilized for garbage disposal and 3,500 metric tons or 60% of the total waste in the country is generated in the Western Province. more..

Mar 10 (FT) State Minister Harsha De Silva in Parliament called for the appointment of a Presidential Commission of Inquiry to investigate the incidents in Ampara and Theldeniya. Participating in yesterday’s adjournment debate, Minister was responding to remarks made by JVP MP Bimal Rathnayake, who had spoken before. “MP Rathnayake made a good point earlier. He said that there was someone who was igniting these more..

Mar 10 (Island) President Sirisena will leave for India today. He is scheduled to leave for Japan from there on a 3-day official visit, beginning March 12. PM Wickremesinghe is scheduled to chair a meeting at the Kandy District Secretariat today to discuss the situation there. PM will visit Digana and Kengalle before chairing the Kandy meet. Speaker Karu Jayasuriya will lead a parliamentary group representing political parties to explore the ways and means of helping those affected. more..

Mar 10 (NR) President Sirisena has arrived in India this evening. PMD said the govt of India extended a warm welcome to President Sirisena. President was accompanied to India with a ten member delegation. Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the President undertakes the visit at the joint invitation of Indian PM Narendra Modi and French President Emanuel Macron. Prez is set to participate in the First Conference of the International Solar Alliance which will convene tomorrow in New Delhi. more..

Mar 10 (AD) The temporary suspensions imposed on Facebook, WhatsApp, and Viber has still not lifted said TRC chairman. Social media sites and messaging platforms including Facebook, Viber and WhatsApp were temporary blocked in the country on March 7, considering the current situation. TRC said that the decision was taken following a request made by the Defense Ministry. more..

Mar 10 (Island) Under the reconciliation intervention programme of the Ministry of National Integration and Reconciliation, the Tellippalai Base Hospital in Jaffna District, was provided with modern medical equipment to the value of Rs.70 Million recently. Secretary, Ministry of National Integration and Reconciliation (MoNIR) V.Sivagnanasothy and Jaffna District Secretary N.Vethanayahan handed over the medical equipment to the hospital. Director Dr.Thivarhar, medical specialists and more..

Mar 10 (NR) MP Keheliya Rabukwella’s son Ramith Rambukwella has been arrested by the Narahenpita Police. He was arrested on charges of assault and driving under the influence. The arrest was made following a complaint which claimed that Ramith Rambukwella attempted to threaten a group of university students in Narahenpita using a firearm. Further investigations are being carried out by the Narahenpita Police. Mr. Rambukwella is to be produced in the courts today. more..

Mar 10 (Hindu) “That’s Liyanarachchi, we know each other from the time we were little boys. We used to play ball together,” said Mohammed Thaibu, pointing to an elderly man at the top of his lane. Standing by the charred remains of his telecommunications shop, “the first to be attacked” in that row, Mr. Thaibu said he was unable to come to terms with what he saw days ago in his hometown Digana, located some 20 km away more..

Mar 10 (NR) UNP MP Ananda Aluthgamage has launched a protest requesting the prompt transfer of the Officer in Charge of the Nawalapitiya Police claiming he has failed to fulfil his duties as required. MP was sitting across the Nawalapitiya-Kandy main road opposite the Nawalapitiya Police Station in protest. He had launched the protest around 5 this morning. Reports claim attempts made by the SP and the ASP of the Gampola Division to discuss the matter with MP Aluthgamage had failed. more..

Mar 10 (DM) A top UN official met SLPP front-liner Basil Rajapaksa at his home on Thursday and discussed the latest political trends in Sri Lanka. Mr. Rajapaksa said that Mari Yamasitha, the head of the Asia and the Pacific Division of the United Nations Department of Political Affairs meeting him showed the international community's keenness to engage with the SLPP after its victory in the LG elections. He said the status of the national unity govt was also discussed. more..

Mar 10 (ST) A Cabinet sub-committee on the Cost of Living this week was told by officials and SLFP Minister Mahinda Amaraweera that the country would be importing more rice than was required if it went ahead with estimates previously provided by officials to the sub-committee. Rice imports were not revised with the anticipated rice harvest, the sub-committee chaired by UNP Minister Malik Samarawickrama was told. more..

Mar 10 (wsws) Socialist Equality Party (SEP) in Sri Lanka strongly condemns the brutal violence being unleashed by Sinhala-Buddhist racist mobs against the country’s Muslim people. SL’s ruling elite ended a 26-year-long war against the country’s Tamil minority just nine years ago. While continuing the anti-Tamil campaign, it is now preparing a bloodbath against another minority community. The SEP urges workers, youth, the rural poor and progressive intellectuals to oppose this mayhem, more..

Mar 10 (CT) Minister Rajitha Senaratne said that he will introduce an electronic-health card to all citizens. He also said that bone marrow transplants will soon be performed in paediatric hospitals as well. Speaking at the Health First Conference organized by the Ministry of Health at the BMICH, Minister added that all citizens will be given an E-Health Card, from which doctors will be able to access all the patient's medical records, even in an instance where the patient is unconscious. more..

Mar 10 (AD) Curfew will not be imposed in Kandy administrative district, SP Ruwan Gunasekara said. The decision has been made while considering the peaceful atmosphere which currently exists in the Kandy district and that the area is fast returning to normalcy, Gunasekara pointed out. Police curfew was imposed within Kandy Administrative District on several occasions in the past couple of days due to the tense situation more..

Mar 10 (NR) A Police Special Operations Centre has been established to receive information pertaining to persons or groups involved in the unrest in Ampara and Kandy. Two special contact numbers are now open for the public to provide information regarding the incidents. Accordingly the Special Operations Centre can be contacted on 0113-024-892 or 0113-024-883. The operations centre may also be reached on email at phqops@police.lk in order to submit any relevant information in this regard. more..

Mar 10 (DM) The written examination for applicants of driving licences will be computerised from May, Transport Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said. He said he had instructed the DMT to streamline the examinations process. “I have directed the Commissioners to begin computerized examinations at least by May 3,” he said. DMT officials said fresh questions would be automatically generated by the system on a daily basis and results issued instantly. “We must also think of new ways of more..

Mar 10 (FT) Both Opposition and Govt lawmakers disapproved of the delay in replying to questions that seek oral answers and the delay in starting the Consultative Committees. UNP MP S.M. Marikkar, who was unhappy that a question he had raised in Parliament went unanswered for over six months, said: “We are elected by the people and it is a serious matter if we are unable to respond to their issues. more..

Mar 10 (CT) JO MP Vasudeva Nanayakkara claimed that he has come to know, via intelligence sources, that a powerful Govt Minister from the Colombo District had given his blessings to an extremist group known as the Mahason Balakaya to instigate the recent communal clash in the hill capital. He alleged that this particular Cabinet Minister had given instructions to a person known as Amith Weerasinghe attached to the group ahead of the flare up in areas such as Digana & Teldeniya more..

Mar 10 (FT) The move by the Govt to block social media sites and communications apps has come under criticism by different groups, with one individual filing a complaint with the Human Rights Commission (HRC). The National Movement for Consumer Rights Protection yesterday complained to the HRC against the Telecom Regulatory Commission (TRC) for blocking websites and apps saying that the decision has violated section 14 (1) A of the constitution by the move. more..

Mar 10 (AD) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe visited Kandy today to observe the situation and the damages to the residences and businesses in the aftermath of violence that sparked off in the in Kandy Administrative district. The PM arrived in Digana at 7 am today. Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, Ministers Ranjith Madduma Bandara, Lakshman Kiriella, Rauff Hakeem, A.H.M. Haleem, CM of Central Province Sarath Ekanayake, more..

Mar 11 (SO) Last week in Kandy, Sri Lanka witnessed the worst ethnic violence since the atrocities at Aluthgama in 2014. The latter was under a brutal militaristic, undemocratic regime that actively emboldened hardline Buddhist groups for its own political ends. In the toxic milieu of jingoistic Rajapaksa rhetoric, Aluthgama was a tragedy destined to happen; the only surprise was that it did not happen sooner, and did not escalate further. Kandy and Ampara on the other-hand; more..

Mar 11 (CT) SL's recent economic, environmental and political happenings are connected to Sinhala-Muslim riots that took place soon after, in certain suburbs of Kandy that left two dead, several injured and scores of public and private properties, mainly belonging to the island's minority Muslim community, destroyed. Perpetrators of this violence are believed to be extremist Sinhala-Buddhist organizations linked to a powerful political party. Sinhala-Buddhists comprise 70% of the island's population. more..

Mar 11 (SO) The recent unrest in Kandy was not only sudden and unexpected but it also brought the whole district to a standstill for over a week as violence ensued in various areas. Unrest which eventually took a communal turn however all began with a mere personal dispute between a lorry driver and several youth travelling in a three wheeler in Teldeniya. According to the family members of H.D Kumarasinghe, a father of two, more..

Mar 11 (Island) The communal rioting this country was hit with a few days ago has thankfully been contained but the message is loud and clear that we have learned very little from July 1983 that resulted in a civil war that dragged on for nearly 30 years costing SL dearly in lost lives and treasure setting back the country’s development by decades. We also lost many of our best and brightest who quit this country for good. In the first place the govt response was slow to the early warning from Amparai more..

Mar 11 (ST) My dear Sri Lankan, It is with a sense of sadness that I am writing to you this week following the events in Kandy that has cost two lives already. While I hope that no more lives are lost, I am frustrated and disappointed even more about how the events are being handled, both by those in power and those in the opposition. Less than nine years ago, we ended a war that raged for almost thirty years. It was a war that cost over a hundred thousand lives. more..

Mar 11 (CT) Former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa in an interview with Ceylon Today said he takes pride in saying that he did everything possible to defeat terrorism in his capacity as the Defence Secretary, even though it resulted in projecting him as an evil human rights violator. Q: You have previously said that you are ready to contest the 2020 Presidential Election if your two brothers (Mahinda/Basil) agree to it. more..

Mar 11 (ST) The Govt clamping a curfew and then a State of Emergency to quell the spread of orchestrated violence in and around the hill capital of Kandy was followed by the shutting down of social media networks like Facebook and WhatsApp. There was some justification in all of this lest the Govt, already reeling from an electoral setback, be accused of moving too slowly to put out the fires. Social media have long been abused by a few to spread havoc among the many. more..

Mar 11 (Island) The riots that were sparked off about a week ago due to the death of a Sinhala truck driver following an assault by a group of Muslim men in Digana have now subsided. As the dust settles on the riots, one cannot but help but notice that the yahapalana govt which was vitually under a state of siege when the riots started, has now incongruously emerged steadier than it was earlier. The differences between the ruling partners the UNP and the SLFP which came to surface during the LG election more..

Mar 11 (ST) An allround performance by Selvara Mathushan paved the way for Jaffna Central to record a thrilling one wicket win over traditional rivals St John’s Jaffna in their 112th Battle of the North encounter concluded at the Central ground in Jaffna yesterday. Mathushan cracked a match winning 53 runs in 75 balls which comprised eight boundaries and took the responsibility on his shoulders in Centralites run chase of 109 runs as he came to the rescue when his side was reeling on 57 for 5 more..

Mar 11 (SO) Another week of political chaos and uncertainty has just passed. There was something new in it – Government paralysis for a few days. When two Ministers publicly admitted that the police had been inactive in controlling rioters in the Kandy District that was no ordinary news. There were also media reports, not just rumours that even the army and the STF that were deployed after the declaration of emergency, were just onlookers of mob violence against Muslim citizens. more..

Mar 11 (CT) As the fumes of communal violence allegedly fuelled by Mahason Balakaya continue to rise in the hill capital, Minister Ranjith Madduma Bandara on Tuesday evening received a call from the Prez Secretariat to come there on Wednesday morning. This left Minister Madduma Bandara wondering as no further details were made available to him other than a simple clue come dressed for a special occasion, as more..

Mar 11 (ST) Kussi Amma Sera came rushing into the living room shouting, Mahattaya balanna, mey kalabala kale, kaantavan-te thamai karadara. (Sir, when there are problems, it’s mostly the women who get affected.) She was carrying the Lankadeepa newspaper in one hand and delicately balancing my morning’s, steaming cup of tea on the other, not dropping an inch of tea with a steady flow of angry words to explain the crisis SL was facing this week (only a woman can manage these two roles more..

Mar 11 (CI) 214: The biggest target chased down by Bangladesh, and the fourth-highest in all T20Is. This is the biggest successful chase in T20Is by a subcontinent team, going past the 207 chased by India against Sri Lanka in 2009. The previous highest target that Bangladesh chased successfully was 165, against West Indies way back in 2007 in the first-ever World T20. 205.71: Mushfiqur Rahim's striker rate - 2nd-highest for a Bangladesh batsmen in T20Is with a minimum score of 50. more..

Mar 11 (CI) Unfazed by a mammoth target, uncowed by their recent history, a blazing Bangladesh top order ran down Sri Lanka's 214 for 6, Mushfiqur Rahim producing one of the great T20 innings: an audacious 72 off 35 balls that built upon terrific work from openers Liton Das and Tamim Iqbal. Against spin and seam, Mushfiqur was spectacular. Arriving at the crease with 115 to get and 63 deliveries remaining in the innings, more..

Mar 11 (ST) Evidently there was not going to be a positive result at the 68th Battle of the Gold’s encounter between traditional rivals St Sebastian’s and Prince of Wales at De Zoysa Stadium in Moratuwa. From the word go a draw was in the cards as positive cricket was not on in the two days play. Cambrians resuming from their overnight score of 76 for 3 lost the wicket at the same score of Sandun Fernando and then went on the defensive as they plodded for over 15 overs before more..

Mar 11 (Island) SL cricket has been never short of talent, but lack of self belief after several high profile retirements saw them hitting new lows since 2015. Last year was the toughest, where Sri Lanka were beaten by teams like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe apart from suffering three straight 5-0 whitewashes in ODI cricket. Since taking over as Head Coach, one of the first things that Chandika Hathurusingha addressed was working on the mental aspect of the game and results have been impressive. more..