Apr 9 (Island) Sri Lanka is blessed with some amazing cricketing talents that often the country had players who have gone onto represent the country having started off playing with soft ball cricket. Lasith Malinga is the greatest sensation to emerge having had little formal coaching. He impressed fast bowling guru Champaka Ramanayake while playing softball cricket in his native Ratgama and went onto make his international debut in 2004. Nuwan Pradeep, who often shares the new ball with more..

Apr 9 (ST) The game of Cricket was introduced and popularised by the colonial masters, and it certainly made a strong cultural bond within society. In the process, it became the most venerated sport in the South Asian part of the globe. Cricket is played everywhere, in the cities and in the villages, where sufficient space can be found as a playing area. It can be the end of a narrow street or a patch of bare land. These matches are played using a tennis or rubber ball. more..

Apr 9 (Island) The penultimate group game between Galle and Colombo in the ongoing Inter-Provincial one-day tournament was washed out by rain but the result did not matter as both teams had already qualified for the finals. Galle finished top of the points table having secured 12 points including two bonus points. Colombo finished second with 11 points, also with two wins. The game between Kandy & Dambulla, which was a dead rubber more..

Apr 9 (CT) Defending 800m Gold medalist Nimali Liyanarachchi will lead the team of 15 athletes for the 23rd Asian Athletics Championship to be held from 21-24 April in Doha, Qatar. Nimali, the middle distance champion, won a Bronze medal at the 2015 edition before turning it into Gold at the 2017 edition. Following a disappointing year in 2018, the 29-year-old returned to her usual best, clocking two sub 2 minutes 03 seconds races to win both National trials. She is now on top of Asian 800m female list more..

Apr 9 (CT) The curtain came down on the third day of the National and Junior Swimming Championship 2019 with 5 new records for the books. Nabashie Perera and Dilrukshi Perera established records in the Girls’ Under-15 and the Open 50m Butterfly events respectively, while Akithmi Wasalathanthri and Akalanka Pieris set records in the Under-15 and Open 100m Back Stroke events respectively and Hiruki de Silva shone with a record breaking performance in the Girls’ Under-15 200m more..

Apr 9 (Island) Former Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan told Parliament that implementing of the UNHRC resolution and the adoption of a new constitution are two issues of utmost importance to the country today. Sampanthan’s statement: Before I commence my speech, may I say that the Govt and the Opposition have both agreed to give me five minutes each which means I would have 30 minutes. more..

Apr 9 (Island) Mobitel (Pvt) Ltd, National Mobile Service Provider in SL successfully showcased South Asia’s first 5G deployment over a Mobile Network on April 5. Mobitel’s successful implementation of 5G was hot on the heels of the 5G deployments in the U.S.A (2nd Apr 2019) and South Korea (4th Apr 2019), connecting a commercial Mobile smartphone to its 5G network. The pioneering activity to bring 5G with Mobility as opposed to Fixed devices was lauded by more..

Apr 9 (DN) Buwaneka Gunatilleka made a fine display to beat National champion Dinuka Karunaratna at the men's open semifinal of the inaugural Defenders Open Badminton championships at the Army Indoor Stadium Panagoda yesterday. This was the major upset of the day. The same pair met each other at the last National championship semifinal but Dinuka beat Buwaneka at that occasion after hard fought game. Once again Dinuka the experience shuttler more..

Apr 9 (Island) Contrary to the govt’s earlier stand against setting up any new coal-fired power plants, Minister Ravi Karunanayake said, yesterday, that Prez and PM had agreed with the CEB engineers to construct coal plants in keeping with the least cost long term generation plan. The CEB Engineers Union (CEBEU) last week vouched that they would stick with the least cost generation plan and on the generation mix. more..

Apr 9 (Island) Rubber factories, owned by Sri Lankan plantation companies, were faced with the threat of bankruptcy as companies receiving BoI concessions had increased the import of liquid rubber, President of Lanka Plantation and Mercantile Services Union, Chatura Samarasinghe said yesterday. Samarasinghe said so while taking part in a demonstration organised by the employees of a rubber factory onMirishena rubber estate, owned by Horana Plantation Company. more..

Apr 9 (EN) Sri Lanka's Laugfs Gas Plc said it has appointed Chaminda Ediriwickrama as its Chief Executive Office with effect from 3 April, 2019. He is also an executive director, Laugfs Gas said in a statement to the stock exchange. Ediriwickrama will also oversee operations at the firm's subsidiary Laugfs Gas Bangladesh. He has held senior positions at state-controlled Litro Gas Lanka Limited and Litro Gas Terminal Lanka which was formerly Shell Gas Lanka Limited. more..

Apr 9 (Island) Employees of the Ministry of Agriculture had started complaining about the facilities at the D.P.A. Jayasinghe building within two weeks after moving in, the PCoI probing allegations of large scale corruption under the current administration was told. Senior additional secretary to the Ministry, Priyanga Handunhewa told the PCoI that there were issues with electricity, air-conditioning, parking, more..

Apr 9 (Hindu) Former MP M. Ramadass has sought the urgent intervention of Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in securing the release of 18 fishermen from Karaikal region who were arrested by the SL Navy recently. In a statement, Mr. Ramadass said the latest episode in the serial arrests, seizures and attacks of SL Navy on the Tamil Nadu and Karaikal fishermen straying into sea waters near the IBML, related to the capture of 18 fishermen belonging to Kottucherrimedu and more..

Apr 9 (Hindu) Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam said that DMK-Congress govt and M.K. Kanimozhi did not ensure security to SL Tamils during the Eelam War. During his campaign near Anna Nagar here on Sunday evening in favour of BJP candidate Tamilisai Soundararajan, Mr. Panneerselvam said that Ms. Kanimozhi, who was among a team of MPs representing India in SL, received the hospitality extended by the then SL President Rajapaksa but did not take any more..

Apr 9 (Island) Power, Energy and Business Development Ministry is set to present a Cabinet paper seeking approval to purchase 200MW of barge-mounted power from a Turkish company as a measure to meet the long-term deficit in power supply in the country. The barge, owned by Turkish company Karpowership, is to be connected to the CEB grid within a month to supply electricity for a period of six months. more..

Apr 9 (DM) SLPP MP Namal Rajapaksa in a Twitter message said that former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa never received summons of any form as far as he was concerned. “As far as we’re aware @GotabayaR never received summons of any form. Not sure if I’m appalled or amused by the lengths some people will go to publicize unsubstantiated claims based on strategic propaganda,” he tweeted. Meanwhile, a spokesman for Goatabaya Rajapaksa said that more..

Apr 9 (MoD) Indian Defence delegation, led by Indian Defence Secretary Mr. Sanjay Mitra participated at the 6th Indo-Sri Lanka Defence Dialogue at the invitation of secretary to the Ministry of DefenceHemasiri Fernando in Colombo today (8). Since its inception in 2012, the Annual Indo - Sri Lanka Defence Dialogue reviews the entire scope of Defence cooperation between both countries while expanding its activities into new areas of interests. During the meeting, more..

Apr 9 (FT) A ceremonial train carrying Ministers Mangala Samaraweera, Arjuna Ranatunga & Asoka Abeysinghe, Former Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, MP Chamal Rajapaksa, Mahinda Amaraweera, Governor of Southern Province Keerthi Tennakion and a host of other local politicians and representatives of Chinese government and contractors left Matara Station for Beliatta at 9 am on Monday commissioning more..

Apr 9 (Island) The National Policies, Economic Affairs, Resettlement, Rehabilitation, Northern development and Youth Affairs Ministry yesterday said that 58 members of 23 families who left for India as refugees during the civil strife will return home today. Among them are 26 males and 32 females. They will arrive at the BIA on board SriLankan Airlines flights UL 138 and UL 122. Upon their arrival, they will be resettled in Jaffna, Mannar, Vavuniya, Trincomalee and Colombo. more..

Apr 9 (EN) Investors in SL govt securities will now get real-time alerts of transactions, the Public Debt Department of the central bank said. Real-time notifications can either be in the form of an email or a Short Message Service (SMS) or both, based on the investor’s preference. "The SMS system will prevent situations like what happened with Entrust," governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy said, refering to a primary dealer in govt securities embroiled in a fraud, selling bonds to third parties. more..

Apr 9 (Island) SLPP Chairman Prof. G.L. Peiris, said, that legal acton against wartime Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in the US, should be viewed against the backdrop of him being widely considered as SLPP candidate at the presidential polls later this year. The former Law Professor explained how interested parties could move court against Gotabaya Rajapaksa to hinder his efforts to renounce US citizenship. more..

Apr 10 (CT) One of the most misused words is Democracy. In popular understanding this means that an institution, including a nation, is governed by a group, selected by the exercise of the free will of the members, expressed by an electoral process, and by a secret ballot. They in turn are expected to project the views of what their constituents are judged to favour. If these two criteria are not met, the claim to be a democracy has failed. The first is by the violation of free choice in more..

Apr 10 (DN) Sri Lanka’s animal-friendly cultural heritage really began 2300 years ago at the time when Arahant Mahinda encountered King Devanampiyatissa at Mihintale. Arahant Mahinda declared: “Oh! Great King, the birds of the air and the beasts have an equal right to live and move about in any part of this land as thou. The land belongs to the peoples and all other beings and thou art only the guardian of it”. Historical records tell us that King Devanampiyatissa after more..

Apr 10 (SO) Environmentalists welcomed last week’s landmark judgement on Chunnakam power station in the North, which they deemed was a good eye opener for the rich and the powerful not to undermine the rights of the citizens and destroy the environment for private purposes. Jagath Gunawardena, a leading environmental lawyer said this was a landmark ruling given that it was the highest penalty imposed by the SC more..

Apr 10 (CT) Robert Knox has said that the Sinhala New Year is the greatest feast of the Sinhala race. Sinhala/Tamil New year is the annual traditional cultural event of the Sinhala and Tamil communities in our country. Purpose of this event is to build bridges among people and break the dividing walls if any. The whole island takes on a festive mood as people gear up for the upcoming celebrations by cleaning homes, shopping and making New Year sweetmeats, to begin the New Year on more..

Apr 10 (CT) University of Sri Jayewardenepura launched its first innovation exhibition at the BMICH last week. Unlike many institutional exhibitions, it was not restricted to the students of the university, but it has invited participants from outside the university system, who are most deprived of opportunity. President Maithripala Sirisena, who was the chief guest of the event, congratulated the inventors and promised, very rightly, State support to the nation’s innovators. more..

Apr 10 (ST) It’s two minutes to an auspicious time (nekatha) and you are dashing from the TV room to the kitchen, trying to time everything correctly according to the TV countdown. This is a scene often enacted in many Sri Lankan homes during the Avurudu season. KohoKoho developed by SurfEdge is an app that can save you much hassle and has the potential to modernise how we celebrate Avurudu. more..

Apr 10 (CT) At a time when the Rajapaksas are said to be toying with the idea of fielding former Defence Secretary Gotabaya for the presidential polls in December, they could not have asked for a better and more forceful campaigner on their behalf. Addressing a youth congregation in Weerawila recently, PM Ranil Wickremesinghe reportedly declared that “Sri Lanka needs discipline which is instilled in people through military training in addition to economic development and social justice.” more..

Apr 10 (DN) Up to just about five decades ago it was not an uncommon occurrence to see our children fall victim to certain serious infectious diseases over which we had very little control. Illnesses such as tuberculosis, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox and typhoid were rampant and seemed to rule the roost. There were regular mass epidemics of some of these nasty diseases which occurred with disconcerting regularity. more..

Apr 10 (Island) The House of Commons seems far more interested in Sri Lanka’s accountability in respect of war against terrorism than our own parliament. Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Mark Christopher Field, on April 4, reiterated foreign judges in SL judicial mechanism to hear war crimes cases. Conservative Party member Field reassured the UK’s commitment to ensure participation of foreign judges in proposed mechanism more..

Apr 10 (Island) A country's foreign policy, also called the foreign relations policy, consists of self-interest strategies chosen by the state to safeguard its national interests and to achieve its goals within int'l relations milieu. Since the national interests are paramount, foreign policies are designed by the govt through high-level decision making processes. Regardless of their political affiliations, most people will agree that the pinnacle of SL’s foreign policy approach was evidenced in the 1970s more..

Apr 10 (Island) Sinhala New Year, Tamil New Year and English New Year are even more serious delusions, more dangerous self deceptions. These are not lies but damn lies. To designate a beginning and an end to the wheel of time is one delusion. To divide the human race as Sinhala, Tamil and English is another. When you were young, have you got together with other little children and cooked make-believe rice? more..

Apr 10 (Island) Makandure Madush, currently being held in Dubai, is doing his damnedest to prevent his extradition. The reason he has given, through his lawyers to courts, in the UAE, for resisting Sri Lanka’s attempt to have him extradited to stand trial here is of crucial import. He says that all his wealth is in Dubai, and if he is deported to Sri Lanka, he will be debarred from serving the UAE any longer. What has been his service to that country? He is a notorious drug dealer, extortionist & criminal more..

Apr 10 (SLA) Project Director and Senior Analyst of the International Crisis Group (ICG) in London, Mr Alan Keenan who paid a courtesy call on the Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake this morning (9) at the Army Headquarters received a comprehensive account on the status quo regarding civil-military cooperation in the North and reconciliation efforts of the Armed Forces in the peninsula. Lieutenant General Senanayake explained him how the Army is more..

Apr 10 (EN) SL's central bank is awaiting legal approvals and better terms on a delayed loan from the Bank of China, Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy said. "The job of the central bank is to expect the worst, and we're going into an election year, so premium would be attached to raising money relatively quickly," he told reporters on Monday. "We want to raise money which would look after much of our obligations up to mid-2020." more..

Apr 10 (Island) Yohan Perera scored a valuable century and Shannon Fernando took three wickets as S. Thomas’ lived up to their reputation to clinch the Under-19 Division I limited overs tournament cricket title at the Galle International Stadium on Tuesday. Chasing 261 runs to win Richmond seemed to phase their innings meticulously as Adithya Siriwardena and Bhanuka Manohara scored half centuries. But the Thomians hit back later to cause two crucial run outs and took wickets more..

Apr 10 (DN) It seems the more our cricketers are exposed to playing matches the more things become complicated with selections for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. The ongoing Super Four Provincial tournament in Dambulla and Pallekele was expected to provide the national selectors a guideline to select SL’s 15 for the World Cup by April 23 which is the final date for submitting the names. But the manner in which the regular ODI players have performed has caused a much bigger more..

Apr 10 (FT) After sharp gains in the past two years, the country is besieged with a credit crunch, especially the small and medium sector, forcing the Central Bank and the Govt to take effective measures. High market interest rates, despite significant drop in benchmark TB rates, illiquidity, and subsequent measures by the Govt to infuse money to the market, depressed economic conditions, rising defaults, and effects of more..

Apr 10 (DN) Udesh Chandima of SL Air Force beats Shaheed Hilmy of Royal College who is the defending national champion by 2-1 (25/07, 15/25, 25/23), at the Grand Slam championships -2019 worked off at the Carrom Federation, Kohuwala recently. Udesh beat Nishantha who is a former World Champion at the quarterfinals by 2-1 (25/00, 04/25, 25/06) Chalani Lakmali of SL Airforce beat Joseph Roshita of SL Navy by 2-0 (25/00, 25/24) in the women’s singles final. more..