May 27 (Island) Rangana Herath, who has been used sparingly in the last 12 months, hinted that he could play all three Tests against West Indies. In a bid to manage the workload of Sri Lanka’s premier bowler, the selectors have used Herath in only two Tests of three-match series. However, there could be an exception this time around. The selectors and management were happy for Herath to play just one First Class game in the recent Inter-Provincial tournament. more..

May 27 (ST) After an undercover report exposed an alleged plot to fix the upcoming opening Test between Sri Lanka and England in November this year, Sri Lanka Cricket has decided to appoint an independent curator in future to work with local groundsmen. According to a report in Qatar-based Al Jazeera, match fixers have been caught discussing plans to rig England’s first Test on their tour of Sri Lanka. more..

May 27 (TOI) K Kandhaiah, 58, a SL repatriate of Ceylon Colony in the city who was the first to succumb to the police firing at the district collectorate on Tuesday, would not be a stranger to many. Pictures of his body with a shocked facial expression and sporting a blood-stained white shirt and dhoti lying at the collectorate were broadcast on news channels and had gone viral on social media. “I too came to know that my husband was no more only through the TV shortly after the incident,” more..

May 27 (ST) Amazon, one of the largest online shopping portals has been in town and held a round of talks with the apparel industry on Thursday targeting some of the big names in the industry to sell their products on the digital platform. Officials from Amazon India which is in proximity to SL has been in town and talking to the Sri Lanka Exporters Association (SLEA), its President Felix Fernando said adding that this was with a view to tie up with some of the big names in the industry more..

May 27 (SO) Political opponents slammed former Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera after he acknowledged taking a campaign contribution of Rs. 1 million from Walt Row and Associates, a company linked to Perpetual Treasuries, ahead of the August 2015 parliamentary election, even as his party ran on the bandumkare or Treasury Bond scandal slogan at the same poll. “It was a case of running with the hare and hunting with the hounds,” more..

May 27 (ST) The Treasury has turned down a request from the Highways Ministry to allocate an additional Rs 100 billion for the completion of road network projects before the end of the year. A senior Treasury official said the request, if agreed upon, would force the Treasury to slash funds of other ministries. “We may have to cut five to 15 percent from several ministries to find the funding for the road projects. That is a difficult task and will be unfair by the other ministries,” official said. more..

May 27 (ST) US Department of Justice is moving to indict former SL Ambassador Jaliya Wickremesuriya on money laundering charges, an authoritative source said. “There is a move based on a probe by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and approved by a grand jury to indict Jaliya Wickramasuriya,” he said. Diplomatic immunity granted to Mr Wickramasuriya during his tenure as SL’s Ambassador was waived by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, clearing the path for the indictment. more..

May 27 (ST) SriLankan Airlines is flying all but one of its Airbus neo fleet within an hour’s range of airports suitable for emergency landings as its Engineering Department has noticed a deterioration in engine gas temperature margins of certain engines and is working with the manufacturer to rectify the problem, the company said. “These decisions are taken by the Engineering Department of the organisation as part of their primary more..

May 27 (ST) The impeachment motion initiated to remove President Ranasinghe Premadasa from office in August 1991 and became the subject of much controversy over allegations that some signatures on it were forged is not in the possession of Parliament, the response to a Right to Information (RTI) application filed by the Sunday Times has revealed. Parliament Standing Orders require that all motions or resolutions to be included in the Order Book initially and after five days, more..

May 27 (IE) Mumbai’s former first-class cricketer Robin Morris, who figures in Al Jazeera’s undercover investigation that casts doubts over last year’s India-SL Test at Galle, says he has done no wrong and was just playing the translator of what he thought was a movie. However, in the teaser released by the Doha-based news channel, 41-year-old one-time Ranji Trophy winner is seen talking about how he has about 30 players who will play what I tell them to and also more..

May 27 (ST) Govt’s two coalition partners — SLFP and UNP – are locked in two different proxy wars with each other in a new turn of events which began this week. For the SLFP, its 16 rebel MPs, now sitting in the Opposition benches in Parliament, have embarked on a project to form a broad coalition of political parties with the exception of the UNP. Process began with a meeting they held last Thursday with JOs’ de facto leader, more..

May 27 (Island) After a week in Cuba, I am late in gate-crashing the Shangri La party, the onset of the newest political tamasha in town. Calling it a tamasha is not to belittle the political potency of the event, but to highlight its ideational bankruptcy. No one took Donald Trump seriously when he slid down his gilded Trump Tower escalator, in January 2016, and announced his candidacy to become President of the United States. Look where he landed before the year was over and more..

May 27 (Island) Sleaze, skulduggery and the purchase of officials, politicians and businessmen great and small is a cancer metastasizing not only in the less developed part of the world but also in powerful and rich nations as well. The latter is epitomised by Donald Trump. No US president has been as embroiled as this individual in scandals, investigations of wrongful collusion, sex-related indignities, hiring disgraced White House aides (five have pleaded guilty, one tried and convicted, more..

May 27 (ST) Former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa who now heads Viyath Maga, an organisation made up of professionals and businessmen, sprung a surprise on UNP Chairman & Minister Kabir Hashim last Thursday. He paid a visit to his Rajagiriya residence to see how the former UNP General Secretary was faring after a brief illness. Mr Hashim had undergone surgery for a nose and throat ailment more..

May 27 (CT) Most newspaper readers are inclined to read articles related to the Judiciary or Court reports. There is a lot of interest in finding out more information about a particular divided judgment that was given by a five-member Judge bench. That verdict was none other than the one (death sentence) which was given against five accused, including former Colombo District MP R. Duminda Silva, more..

May 27 (SO) When the General Secretary of the BBS threatened her in open court in January 2016, a new battle-front opened for Sandhya Ekneligoda, wife of missing journalist Prageeth. Braving threats and intimidation, even as she battled separately to find Prageeth, Sandhya saw the criminal intimidation case against Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera to its finish last week. After years of running amok and more..

May 27 (CT) Even though the North and the Moneragala District are highly susceptible to malnourishment, in an alarming discovery, 40% of the children in the Colombo District were found to be malnourished, and it is not second to the situation with regard to malnutrition in the Nuwara Eliya District. This was revealed at a Parliamentary Sectoral Oversight Committee on Women and Gender and the Children’s Caucus meeting more..

May 27 (ST) In spite of being favourable to the draft of 20th Amendment, presented by the JVP last week, MP and Constitutional expert Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne says the ULF and the LSSP majority group which he represents is still supportive of formulating a new Constitution for the country. “I believe it is still a possibility though the JVP says it is unlikely,” he said, adding that if the two main political parties can support more..

May 17 (CT) Agrarian Development Department (ADD) says that until the Govt takes a policy decision to refill paddy lands, approval will not be granted to refill such lands. However, Director General (DG) of ADD, W.M.M.B Weerasekara said, releasing such lands will be considered if a swift inspection is carried out to facilitate the Govt’s development activities. He said this decision had been taken following an order given by Prez. more..

May 17 (PTI) Around 195 files including documents relating to relations between India and Sri Lanka at the peak of the LTTE led civil war have been destroyed by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), sparking concern among archivists and researchers. While the FCO said any destruction decision would have been taken based on the country's records policy, experts believe the loss of the files means there is no more..

May 17 (CT) The Govt has shortlisted a top local/global joint venture party to act as the transaction advisor (TA) in the scheduled divestment process for the Hilton and Hyatt Colombo Hotels, the Ministry of Public Enterprise Development (MPED) official said. “This week we will submit a special Cabinet Paper to get the Cabinet nod for this shortlisted party; thereafter we will announce the name,” he said. more..

May 17 (CT) The Police Constable who died due to drowning in floodwaters while attempting to save 3 others in Madampe has been promoted to the rank of Police Sergeant. Police Media Spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said the promotion was announced on an order issued by the IGP Pujith Jayasundara. The body of the Policeman who drowned in floodwaters while on relief duty in Madampe was found this morning. more..

May 17 (ST) The introduction of e-consultation in Sri Lanka, a popular method enabling patients to access general practitioners (GPs) through their mobile phones is being studied by the National Medicinal Regulatory Authority (NMRA) to ensure the system is not hijacked by quacks. The NMRA CEO Dr. Kamal Jayasinghe said that proper regulations need to be introduced soon to monitor the system and legitimise e-prescription and more..

May 28 (CT) During the wartime, the Sinhala language based media would reiterate only one theme. The govt and the security forces are fighting to liberate the Tamil people from the LTTE. Sri Lanka is one country and we all are Sri Lankans. LTTE does not represent the Tamil community. It is a terrorist element and is a threat to the unity of all the ethnic groups and should be handled by the security forces. The LTTE was completely annihilated in May 2009. more..

May 28 (ST) Since the Yahapalanaya Govt took office in August 2015, the focus has been on strengthening the role of Parliament, particularly its oversight bodies and its control over public finances. One of its first tasks was to grant the Chairmanship of the COPE and the PAC to Opposition Lawmakers. While both Committees have performed far better under this Govt, by releasing regular reports and bringing more and more govt institutions under scrutiny. more..

May 28 (SO) Former Minister and UPFA MP Dayasiri Jayasekara has run into a storm of controversy after it was revealed in court last week that he accepted Rs 1 million in campaign donations from a company linked to Perpetual Treasuries which is at the centre of the Bond scandal. Jayasekera said he had received the money during the 2015 General Election campaign but in no way acted to defend the interests of the company. more..

May 28 (CT) I decided to write this piece whilst firmly rooted in my theory that the next power shift in SL will be in favour of the Rajapaksas. It may be Gotabaya or another Rajapaksa or even some shock and awe candidate. Whoever it may be, he /she will enter the fray from the Rajapaksa camp. Despite all the brilliant objections and revelations that appear in the media at present, warning people of the emergence of a Rajapaksa who has a tarnished image, the boost that has been more..

May 28 (ST) This week on Friday, UN’s Organisation started a week of Vesak celebrations to commemorate the Birth, the Enlightenment and the Passing Away of Gautama the Buddha which falls this month of May on the 29th — full moon day. And chose ninety percent Buddhist Thailand to be the host nation which, along with other Buddhist countries of the region, will be celebrating the May full moon as the thrice blessed Vaisakya Mangalya. Even in multicultural Singapore, more..

May 28 (CT) During the season of rough seas (Warakan), fishermen refrain from going to sea or limit their fishing trips as much as possible as the sea loses its usual tranquillity and becomes a tough customer which many wouldn’t dare deal with. At such times, people tend to stay ashore where safety and security is guaranteed. But to the people of the Kalpitiya peninsula, especially villagers of Paniadiya, Narakkalliya, Mampuriya, more..

May 28 (Island) Has a single category of public workers been able to remain untainted by bribery? Pose this question to a random sample of people and their answer will be an emphatic ‘no’. It is only natural that they have no high opinion of state employees or tend to tar all of them with the same brush. Public officials are usually bracketed with their political masters who have a reputation for venality and corruption. This does not mean we have paragons of virtue in the private sector, more..

May 28 (SO) Last week the country commemorated the end of the war against the LTTE but if anything, these commemorations clearly demonstrated that while the war against terrorism may have been won, the nation has clearly lost the peace. The commemorations were steeped in controversy. The day that signalled the end of the war- and the day that LTTE leader V Prabhakaran’s body was discovered in its watery grave at Nandikadal- was remembered at state level with Prez Sirisena more..

May 28 (Island) As the month of June approaches, we realise that the incumbent President now has only 18 full months in office before the last date by which a presidential election should be held and a new president declared elected. According to Article 31(3) of the Constitution, the poll for the election of the President has to be held not less than one month, and not more than two months before the expiration of the term of office of the President in office. more..

May 28 (BDN) Nine years after the war between the Sri Lankan armed forces and the LTTE ended in May 2009, reconciliation between Sri Lanka’s majority Sinhalese and minority Tamils still appears to be a far cry. And most disturbingly, the logjam is creating the ground for extremist thinking on both sides of the ethnic divide, forcing President Maithripala Sirisena to take note of it in his address to the Security Forces on the occasion of War Heroes’ Day here on May 19. more..

May 28 (CT) The govt commemorated the fallen war heroes on Friday (19) near the monument erected at the Parliament Grounds under the patronage of President Maithripala Sirisena who vowed the govt is committed in strengthening the Tri-Forces enabling them ensure national security. Prez Sirisena commended the great service rendered by the members of the Tri-Forces not only in the issue of national security, but also more..

May 28 (CT) This week I thought of addressing the likely bowling combinations of the Sri Lankans going into the Test series. I believe it’s also comforting that it has been once and for all decided that the tour will now be three Tests and no limited over games thrown into the mix. Besides, let’s not forget that in all likelihood that Herath will not play the day night pink ball Test. So the suggestion made here will be applicable for the first two Tests only. To start with the Sri Lankan combination will more..

May 28 (DN) D.M.I.S.S. Dunukara from North Central Province and P.B. Gayani from Southern Province won the men’s and women’s walking events respectively at the 44th National Sports Festival worked off at Independence Square yesterday. Dunukara finished the race with a timing of 1:39.26 while T.G.S.N. Appuhamy from Western Province was runner-up clocking 1:40.46 and S.C. Bangamuwage from Southern Province third with a time of 1:47.50. more..

May 28 (CT) Minister Faiszer Musthapha is set to take stern action against sports bodies who do not submit their audit reports every year, a press release states. He stated this at a discussion held with 64 sports bodies on Saturday regarding amendments to the National Sports Act. Addressing the gathering he said that they expect unity from sports, but when looking at the issues of Sports Associations, unity is a problem. more..

May 28 (CT) Report by Saman Amarasinghe on controversial Junior Athletics Manager Anil Weerasinghe had been submitted to the Ministry of Sports on 15 May, yet no action has been taken in that regard so far, even though almost two weeks have elapsed. Saman Amarasinghe, former Consultant to the Sports Minister and present Chairman of the Sports Museum, was appointed by the Ministry of Sports to conduct an independent inquiry into Anil Weerasinghe’s questionable more..

May 28 (ST) Retail demand in the European Union for SL apparel was at a mere 5% increase in the first quarter of this year compared to 2017. This was a drop in expectations on the back of the GSP plus trade facility that resumed in July 2017. SLEA President Felix Fernando said that due to the long winter season in Europe the industry had observed a drop in retail demand for apparel as a result of which local exporters were unable to reach the expected increase in sales of 12%. more..