May 15 (DN) A new Bill to provide for the establishment of 1990 Suwaseriya Foundation was Gazetted by the Govt last week. Suwaseriya Foundation is to provide pre-hospital care ambulance services and emergency response services free of charge to any person. It also provides immediate and effective pre-hospital care free of charge in a safe and clinical working environment until a person reaches nearest more..

May 15 (FT) JO MP Dilum Amunagma is to appear before the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) today for questioning. Police media spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekara said that the MP had been summoned by the TID to be questioned with regard to the communal violence that took place in the Kandy district in March. “He has been summoned by the TID for questioning on Tuesday morning,” he said, adding that the MP would be interrogated at TID headquarters in Colombo. more..

May 15 (Island) It was too early to reveal the name of the Joint Opposition’s presidential candidate, former president Rajapaksa said. "People are talking about former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa as a popular presidential candidate, but he has not yet discussed the matter with me," the ex-President said. "We will name a candidate when the govt announces the election. We have to decide on the matter considering the situation that exists at that point of time. more..

May 15 (Island) SLPP Chairman Prof. G.L. Peiris, said his party would go it alone at provincial councils, parliamentary and presidential elections under the leadership of former President Rajapaksa. PC elections are expected later this year, while the Presidential and Parliamentary elections should be held within the next 1 1/2 years. The JO candidates contested the last local govt polls on the SLPP ticket. more..

May 15 (DN) An unidentified virus has resulted in the deaths of five children in Ward 1 of the Children’s Section at the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital in Galle over the last few days. According to hospital sources, several more children are currently suffering in the ward. The doctors are not sure whether the children caught the virus while in the ward or it is as a result of any other infection from a disease they were already suffering from. When the Daily News contacted more..

May 15 (DN) Two Supreme Court Judges among a three-judge-Bench yesterday declined to sit on the Bench regarding the writ petition filed challenging the Bribery Commission's decision to file a corruption case in the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court against former Chief Justice Mohan Peiris and two others. When the writ petition came up before Supreme Court three-judge-Bench comprising Justice Sisira de Abrew, Justice L.T.B. Dehideniya and Justice Murdu Fernando, more..

May 15 (FT) China’s Ambassador Cheng Xueyuan during a meeting with PM Ranil Wickeremesinghe yesterday has assured the Chinese Govt had approved the $1.1 billion loan for the construction of the first phase of the Central Expressway, PM’s Office said. The statement was issued following reports that loan disbursement had been held up, despite the expressway being in the works for the better part of two years and more..

May 15 (NR) President Maithripala Sirisena and the SL delegation have arrived in the island, concluding a two-day state visit to Iran. Lankan delegation arrived at BIA at around 1.45 this morning. During his visit, President Sirisena held bilateral discussions with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani. During bilateral discussions, Prez Hassan Rouhani and Prez Sirisena had reviewed long standing bilateral relations in political, trade, economic and socio-cultural spheres. more..

May 15 (BT) A British amateur rugby player who died on a tour in Sri Lanka has been named as 25-year old Thomas Howard. Durham City Rugby Football Club also named Mr Howard’s teammate who remains in hospital in the city of Colombo as 26-year old Tom Baty. Both men were admitted to hospital after suffering breathing problems on Sunday. They had travelled to SL to tour with one of the club’s teams called the Clems Pirates. Their breathing issues were not rugby-related, more..

May 15 (CT) The World Bank (WB) last month withdrew US$ 200 million in funds, which were earmarked for a garbage disposal project and Kelani River Flood Protection work, alleging corrupt practice in the awarding of contracts, reliable sources said. They said that after last year’s Meethotamulla garbage disaster, which left at least 30 dead, the Govt had approached the WB to aid it in garbage disposal in Greater Colombo area. more..

May 15 (DM) Nobody seems to have cared when State Minister Palitha Range Bandara said at a public meeting that the Anamaduwa Technical College became a reality after he used his pistol to obtain the funds. It indicates how serious the bureaucratic red tape is in getting things done in the country. He said, “when I attempted to build the Anamaduwa Technical College, vital documents were hidden. This forced me to draw my pistol from my waist because I knew that only by acting more..

May 15 (DM) The great bane of many third-world countries looms in the craftily orchestrated dramas of greed and struggle for power in the political arena. Formerly Ceylon, beginning from 1956 and now Sri Lanka, in the course of the last four decades or so, has provided an ideal oasis for power-hungry politicians to play their astute games and political trickery at the expense of often misinterpreting peoples choices and oppressing them with their high-flown imaginary visions. more..

May 15 (DM) “Being a lawyer is not a privilege to disobey the prevailing law. If there is a forum or a bench I will appear before it and give evidence. There are nearly 15 000 lawyers and only a very few are corrupt. I’m raising my voice to restore the nobility attached to the legal profession. If I am penalized I will be happy. We have filed cases against six SC judges. How can speaking the truth be considered as contempt? more..

May 15 (Island) The CID will record a statement from Speaker Karu Jayasuriya on the abduction and assault of senior journalist, Keith Noyahr in 2008. The statement would be recorded at the Parliament complex shortly, sources said. Jayasuriya, as the minister of public administration at that time, informed former Prez Rajapaksa of Noyahr’s abduction. Former Deputy Editor of The Nation newspaper, more..

May 15 (ST) Scientists hope a line of buoys enclosing threatened sections of the Bar Reef will provide a lifeline for the dying marine sanctuary. Bar Reef, off Kalpitiya, is one of the marine sanctuaries affected by catastrophic coral bleaching. Marine activists who deployed a number of floating buoys demarcating two sections of Bar Reef from March 26-29 to keep human activities at bay and assist the reef’s recovery, more..

May 15 (DM) Sri Lankan politics is becoming increasingly acrimonious, yet again. There is a deepening polarization among the UNP and President Sirisena on the one hand and the Yahapalanaya Govt as a whole and the emboldened Rajapaksa acolytes of the joint opposition on the other hand. The President is openly undermining the PM. Now that he has implied his plans to run for the presidential election in 2020, this tenuous more..

May 15 (AD) The Cabinet has approved an increase in bus fares by 6.56% with effect from tomorrow. However, there will be no change in the current minimum fare, Minister Ranjith Madduma Bandara said. Weekly Cabinet meeting, chaired by President Sirisena, commenced at 10am today with the participation of PM Ranil Wickremesinghe and all ministers. Several topics including the fuel price increase were discussed extensively during more..

May 15 (DM) Central Province DIG Mahinda Ekanayake will be promoted as a Senior DIG and be appointed as the Head of the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) for a period of two months, the National Police Commission (NPC) said yesterday. NPC Chairman P.H. Manatunga said that Senior DIG Ravi Waidyalankara retired from service and would be replaced by DIG Mahinda Ekanayake. more..

May 15 (DM) The Police today released a picture of a 50-year-old woman, who was wanted over an alleged financial fraud of Rs. 15 million. SP Ruwan Gunasekera said the woman had been evading arrest over the fraud, in which cheques issued by her to several shop owners had not been honoured. The woman has been operating a boutique dress shop in Mount Lavinia and had issued the cheques after buying dress items more..

May 15 (Island) The J'pura, Kotte Sewerege and Waste Water Management Project, capable of purifying 40,000 cubic meters of water daily, would help conserve underground water resources in areas such as Kaduwela, Battaramulla, Rajagiriya, Ethul Kotte, Nugegoda, and Kimbulawela, Minister Rauff Hakeem said last week. The Minster said so at discussion at the Parliamentary complex to apprise people’s more..

May 15 (SL) Cabinet has approved a proposal to absorb 980 students of the SAITM in Malabe to the Kotelawala Defence University (KDU). President Sirisena and Higher Education Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakse had submitted the cabinet paper to absorb the SAITM students to KDU after evaluating their qualifications. Medical students of SAITM had earlier called for legislative changes before they were transferred to KDU. more..

May 15 (EN) SL's administrative capital of Sri J'pura was gripped by an extended power failure as a work-to-rule campaign launched by engineers at the state power utility. A 220kV high tension grid supplying Sri J'pura, Dehiwala, Pannipitiya and Ratmalana failed at around 8.00 am Tuesday. CEB's engineers are on a work-to-rule campaign from May 8, over the current administration cancelling cheap coal power more..

May 15 (CT) It’s been five days since the Government owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation raised prices on Petrol, Diesel and Kerosene Oil to be better reflective of world petroleum prices. The mechanism for the increase is a pricing formula that links the price of crude oil, taxes and freight charges to a margin for the retailer. This is a method used by most developing and emerging countries and Sri Lanka is the last country in South Asia to adopt this method. more..

May 15 (FT) When Sri Lanka voted in a new govt in January 2015, none of us in the private sector thought that we will be faced with today’s tough reality after three years. Whilst many of us are yet positive and optimistic, we must also be practical and see the reality. If we take the 3.1% GDP growth experienced in 2017 at the macro end, we see that at the household end we see how the SL consumer is in trouble as per AC Nielsen research report with the home consumption contracting by 3.9% more..

May 15 (CT) The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe Govt has come in for strong criticism by media and civil rights lawyers after the proposed Audit Bill has sneakily suggested a clause that prohibits RTI applications from being filed against the Audit Service Commission and other individuals authorized by the Auditor General. Pointing to this development as a clear and present danger, the widely read Sunday Times asked on 13th May as to whether the Govt is back-pedaling on more..

May 15 (DM) Lanka Private Bus Owners' Association (LPBOA) would also said that it would launch a strike if the Cabinet approved bus fare increment was not revised, LPBOA President Gemunu Wijeratne said. He said that 6.56% bus fare increment was not acceptable and it was suspicious how the authorities arrived at the figure. “If the authorities did not re-consider the bus fare increment against the recent fuel hike the LPBOA would have to go for a strike action from more..

May 15 (AD) The second British rugby player who was admitted to hospital with breathing difficulties, while on a visit to Sri Lanka, has also passed away today. Two British amateur rugby players who were on a tour in Sri Lanka were hospitalized on May 13 after they had both suffered breathing problems. One of them, 26-year old Thomas Howard, passed away on Sunday (13) while his teammate Tom Baty, 27, more..

May 15 (DM) The Judicature Amendment Bill which was passed in Parliament last week was legalised when Speaker Karu Jayasuriya officially placed his signature to the Bill this afternoon. This Bill provides for the appointment of a permanent Trial-at-Bar where three judges will sit daily to hear cases on serious crimes. The second reading of the Bill was passed by a majority of 67 votes, with UNP, a section of the SLFP and the TNA voting for it, while JO and 16 govt members more..

May 15 (EN) Sri Lanka rupee fell to a new low of 158.20/40 against the US dollar on Tuesday while gilt yields continued to ease and stocks gained 0.18% on buying in Ceylon Cold Stores and LOLC, dealers and brokers said. The rupee weakened to a new low of 158.20/40 rupees against the US dollar in the spot market, on import demand and exporters seen waiting in the side-lines expecting the currency to depreciate further, dealers said. Central bank took a hands-off approach more..

May 15 (DM) Sri Lankans may follow what happened in Malaysia where Dr. Mahathir Mohamad was elected as the country's PM with an overwhelming majority at the recent general elections by defeating the incumbent govt, the joint opposition (JO) said. JO member G.L. Peiris said former prez Rajapaksa has done a tremendous service to the country just like Dr. Mohamad. “They are both respected statesmen. more..

May 15 (NR) Speaker Karu Jayasuriya has signed the Judicature Amendment Bill which was passed in Parliament recently. The Amendment Draft Bill which includes the establishment of three member special High Courts was tabled in Parliament on the 9th of May. A debate was held over the Amendment Bill and was passed with a majority with 119 MPs voting in support of the bill and 52 against. Amendment Bill was tabled by the Minister of Justice. Bill was presented on March 6 by more..

May 15 (CT) Sri Lanka tea, essential oils, coconut milk powder, virgin coconut oil and other coconut products were showcased at the International Food and Beverage Exhibition (Salon International de l’Alimenetation (SIAL)) held in Toronto at the beginning of this month, the Department of Commerce on its website said. Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB), Mlesna Tea, Imperial Tea Exporters (Pvt) Limited, Tea Talk Pure Ceylon Tea, Regency Tea and Hero Nature Products Pvt Ltd, more..

May 15 (NR) The JVP has called on the govt to remove the unfair taxes imposed on fuel. Speaking at a media briefing, JVP MP Vijitha Herath said the losses incurred by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation cannot be covered by increasing fuel prices. MP Herath noted the prices of fuel had been increased through an unfair tax system adding the price hike could result in CEYPETCO making serious losses and more..

May 15 (AM) Senor DIG D.W.R.B Senevirathne has been appointed the acting Senior DIG in charge of the Police Financial Crimes Investigations Division (FCID). Senevirathne previously functioned as the head of the CID. Senevirathne succeeds Senior DIG Ravi Waidyalankara who has not been granted a service extension. Waidyalankara, according to Police sources, was not given an extension on the basis that there were two investigations against him. more..

May 15 (AD) Fishermen from several areas protested the fuel price increase by continuing their strike for the second day. People arriving to buy fish from the main fish markets in the Negombo and Chilaw areas had faced difficulties due to this situation. Negombo Fish Market was closed again today due to the strike. Fishermen from Beruwala to Mannar engaged in a strike protesting the fuel price hike starting from yesterday. Fishermen on strike had hoisted black flags around the Chilaw more..

May 15 (AD) Inter-Provincial Bus Owners’ Association has decided to launch a strike from midnight tomorrow, demanding a 20% increase in bus fares. Association also demands that the minimum fare be increased to Rs 15. Cabinet today approved an increase in bus fares by 6.56% with effect from tomorrow, however no change was made to the the current minimum fare (Rs 10). Prior to the fare revision, more..

May 15 (PSL) President Sirisena who is on a two day state visit to Iran met with Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Teheran, yesterday (13). President Sirisena was warmly received by the Supreme Leader of Iran when he arrived at the venue. Supreme Leader pointed out the importance of taking forward the strong, long standing bilateral ties between the two countries, while further enhancing diplomatic relations as well as the friendly ties between the people of the two countries. more..

May 15 (Island) There were 47, 000 unemployed graduates in Sri Lanka, Minister Ranjith Madduma Bandara said yesterday. He said so at a ceremony to mark the handing over of the appointment letters to 4,511 graduates enrolled into the state administrative service. "There are 47,000 graduates waiting to join the state service. We receive between 400 and 500 applications daily asking for govt jobs. Some say we are trying to reduce the size of the state sector. more..

May 15 (Roar) Children are our greatest treasure. Children are a blessing in every family. Children are the future of our nation. Rhetoric of this sort flourishes in SL, where many make a song and a dance about how children are always prioritized above all else. But for all that, a wide range of prevalent factors like poverty, illness and even natural disasters have seen multitudes of children being pushed off the social pedestal more..