Apr 10 (CT) Ananda College clinched the Junior and Open Championships in the Boys’ category, while Sirimavo Bandaranaike and Visakha Vidyalaya clinched the Junior and Open Championships in the Girls’ category respectively at the National and Junior Swimming Championships 2019. The meet was held at the Isipathana College Swimming Complex from 6-9 April. One national and 19 meet records were established during the Championships. Ananda College swimmers stood out this yr more..

Apr 10 (FT) Budget 2019 was critiqued by Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday as an effort to win votes by increasing public sector salaries and expanding the number of Samurdhi recipients, and warned it would only lead to missed deficit targets. Slamming the Budget, which was passed in Parliament last week, as full of short-term policies, Rajapaksa insisted increased public expenditure would lead to more debt, more..

Apr 10 (FT) Abacus Tea Ltd yesterday presented a groundbreaking invention by making low-cost teabag machines staple-pin free for value-added tea. This breakthrough is an invention by tea bag industry veteran and Abacus Tea Ltd Chairman Rohan de Lanerolle, who will now give a new lease of life to over 1,000 tea bag machines operating around the world. “I began working on this invention six years ago, and the three main reasons I started working on this idea were because more..

Apr 10 (DN) S. Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia first eleven cricket team was at the receiving end of an unruly crowd supporting Richmond College being subjected to assault on the captain, acting master-in-charge and a player at the end of the Singer Trophy Under 19 division 1 inter-schools limited-over final at the Galle Stadium yesterday. The incident took place soon after S Thomas’ had beaten Richmond by 12 runs to win the final and end the southern school’s 2-year dominance more..

Apr 10 (AD) Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court instructed the police to provide necessary security to anti-corruption activist and police informant Namal Kumara, under the victims and witness protection act. The attorneys representing Namal Kumara had requested from the court that police security be provided for their client, who is a main witness in the case pertaining to the alleged VIP assassination plot, more..

Apr 10 (EN) Meteorological Department has forecast below normal rainfall in April, May and June over the island which is already suffering from power cuts owing to delays in building new plants and low water levels in hydro-electric reservoirs. “Most of the global models predicted below normal rainfall for the AMJ (April-May-June) season,” it said in a report on the consensus seasonal rainfall outlook for these months. The department said that its forecast models predict that more..

Apr 10 (TN) Pakistan under-19 team will tour Sri Lanka for two four-dayers and three 50-over matches. The tour will be Pakistan’s preparations for reclaiming the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup. The matches will be played in Galle and Hambantota, said a Pakistan Cricket Board announced. The ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup 2020 will be played in South Africa from 17 January to 9 February 2020, and Pakistan will aim to annex the trophy for the first time since 2006 when national captain more..

Apr 10 (Island) European aircraft manufacturer, Airbus, was holding USD 19.2 million belonging to SriLankan Airlines without paying interest thereon, the PCoI was informed, yesterday. SriLankan airlines had paid USD 19.2 million to Airbus, between 2013 and 2016, as pre-delivery payments for the purchase of four A 350-900s planes, which were to be delivered by 2020 and 2021, Yasantha Dissanayake, more..

Apr 10 (Island) With a view to preparing private sector partners for a possible role in initiating peace dialogues through the business community, the Chamber initiated a programme on mediation techniques and skills for ethnic conflict resolution. The UN office in Sri Lanka assisted in this initiative by providing resource persons from the Mediation Support Unit of the UN, for a workshop which was held in March 2019. Following the workshop, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC), more..

Apr 10 (GDI) The Transport and Civil Aviation Ministry stated that special transport services will be provided for the Sinhala and Tamil new year.The secretary of the ministry, L P Jayampathi noted that additional services for SLTB buses, private buses and trains will commence yesterday (8). It is reported that over 1000 additional services will be carried out by SLTB buses and twenty additional train services will be scheduled by the Railway department. more..

Apr 10 (DN) Power, Energy and Business Development Ministry and Canadian Commercial Corporation entered into an agreement to set up a 100 megawatt floating solar power plant in the Maduru Oya reservoir. Power, Energy and Business Development Ministry Secretary Dr. Suren Batagoda and Asian Region Director of Canadian Commercial Corporation Yvonne Chin signed the relevant agreement more..

Apr 10 (FT) Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court yesterday postponed the case filed by the Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL) to 16 April, after the lawyer representing the CEB requested a fresh date, as he was unable to be present in Court. Nine accused are cited in the case filed by the PUCSL, with the CEB being listed as the first accused. The other accused are CEB directors. The PUCSL decided to file a case against the CEB after it commenced power cuts last month, more..

Apr 10 (AD) The Negombo Magistrate’s Court today granted permission for police to detain and question a Chilaw Urban Council member accused of aiding and abetting a heroin racket. Initially two suspects had been arrested for the possession of 1.08 kg of heroin in the Katuwapitiya area in the Negombo Police Division. Following further investigations, another suspect wanted in connection with the incident, Warnakulasuriya Stanley Fernando (65), a member of the Chilaw Urban Council. more..

Apr 10 (CT) National Water Supply has advised the public residing in the coastal belt areas from Wadduwa to Bentara to refrain from using water released from the Water Purification Plant in Kethhena for either drinking or cooking, as the water is mixed with sea water coming through the Kalu Ganga. But that water could be utilised for any other purpose. “The people living in these areas could use this water for any other purpose other than more..

Apr 10 (Island) The govt would have to allocate Rs. 75 million per day to purchase 100 MW of emergency power from the private sector for the required six months. Despite assurance from Power. Energy, Business Development Minister Ravi Karunanayake, there would not be power cuts after midnight today, experts say till April 21 the situation will be under control as factories and offices remain closed during the festive season. The problem would resurface thereafter. more..

Apr 10 (Island) The Prisons department intelligence unit operatives, yesterday, recovered a cyanide phial and a syringe smuggled into the Magazine Prison in Welikada to kill an underworld leader, known as Gonakovile Roha. Roha is detained for murders and drug dealing in the Ratmalana area. The detection was made on Monday during a search operation, sources said. Prisons authorities have found two other underworld members who were responsible for smuggling in the poison. more..

Apr 10 (DM) The SLFP is seriously considering whether to seek a Supreme Court ruling on when President Maithripala Sirisena’s five-year term of office expires under the 19th Amendment on the basis that it was signed into law by Speaker Karu Jayasuriya on June 21, 2015, General Secretary and MP, Dayasiri Jayasekara said. He said Prez was likely to dissolve parliament when it completes 4.5 years of its term more..

Apr 10 (DM) Media reports said that National Elections Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya had requested President Sirisena to seek the opinion of the Supreme Court on the legal implications on the PC elections. He had made this request in the light of the arguments over the electoral system under which the provincial council elections could be held at the moment. Some people are of the view that the PC polls should be held under the mixed electoral system more..

Apr 10 (DM) Is Prez Sirisena’s anti-narcotic campaign an opportunistic farce to lure voters to his bid for a second term in the office- or a genuine mission guided by a political will unseen in his predecessors? Public opinion seems to be mixed, not unsurprisingly in the partisan politics in the country and also due to the general Sri Lankan knack to criticize and complain about everything and anything. However, certain idiosyncrasies in the presidential campaign have contributed to more..

Apr 10 (DM) Former Minister and founder of the SLPP, Basil Rajapaksa said that he would not differentiate voters based on their ethnic identity. He expressed thoughts on the presidential election and bilateral talks with the SLFP ahead of preparations for the presidential poll as the main strategist of the SLPP-led political force. Q: Certain names have surfaced as potential candidates for presidential polls. more..

Apr 10 (ST) Attempts to implement the death penalty after 42 years may undermine much needed int'l support for the current counter narcotics campaign, experts caution. The recent police and military successes in intercepting large shipments of narcotics was the result of shared intelligence, both domestically and internationally. SL law enforcement agencies also receive essential technical assistance, and specialised training from foreign states more..

Apr 10 (DM) As technology continues to advance dramatically, shrinking the world to smaller and smaller proportions of a global village, in our little corner of the world, Sri Lanka still remains happily entrenched in the grip of pontificating politicians, who cannot go beyond the narrow confines of their self-centeredness to see the pain and suffering all around them!!! We are being told no power & water cuts for the New Year! more..

Apr 10 (CT) The LTTE and the Tamil Diaspora are backing slain editor Lasantha Wickramatunge’s daughter, Ahimsa Wickramatunge, who has filed a case in a Court in California requesting a jury trial and compensation, alleged the JO. NFF leader and MP Wimal Weerawansa alleged that Minister Mangala Samaraweera is plotting to become the next PM while making Minister Sajith Premadasa the future President. more..

Apr 10 (DN) The apparel industry of Sri Lanka which contributes 7% of GDP and 53% of export earnings is going to expand its territory to South Asian Countries such as India and China and to South America. Secretary General, the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF), Tuli Cooray said that 12% of the country’s apparel exports go to other continents. “We are targeting the world as a market,” he said. more..

Apr 10 (AD) As their state controlled mining operation reported huge profits last year, thrilled workers of Sri Lanka’s premier mineral sand miner happily bagged a bonus of Rs 100,000 each on 8 April. “I wanted to reward you with a bonus of Rs 125,000 but due to recent trade union actions, I am only able to give Rs 100,000” said the Minister Rishad Bathiudeen on 8 April in Pulmoddai. Minister Bathiudeen, joined by workers of all ranks more..

Apr 10 (CT) Minister Arjuna Ranatunga warned that he would come down hard on transport trade unions which go on strike during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year. In response to questions from media, regarding the bus employees unions, which have threatened to strike, Ranatunga claimed that the unions were holding the people to ransom during the festive season which was considered precious more..

Apr 10 (CT) SLPP questioned the intention behind the two lawsuits filed against former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the US, insisting a political motive was behind the developments. One case was filed by Ahimsa Wickrematunge, daughter of former Editor of The Sunday Leader Lasantha Wickrematunge, and a second by Roy Samathanam. “It is very clear these cases are clearly connected with the more..

Apr 10 (Island) Deputy Solicitor General Dileepa Pieris, yesterday, informed Colombo Fort Magistrate that state officials were making representations to the UAE govt to have underworld leader and drug lord Makandure Madush deported. The judge raised the query when the alleged attempt to assassinate the Prez and the former Defence Secretary was taken up before him. Colombo Fort Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake ordered more..

Apr 10 (Island) Secretary to the Ministry of Power, B.M.S. Batagoda was preparing a cabinet paper to legitimise the exorbitant salary hike given to CEB engineers in 2014 through a Unified Engineering Service circular, which was quashed by the Court of Appeal last week, CEB unions alleged yesterday. Addressing the media, representatives of the Lanka Viduli Podu Sevaka Sangamaya and other unions warned more..

Apr 10 (FT) SL economy is worth around $ 93 billion with the per capital income at $ 4,310 and the country achieving most of the Millennium Development Goals. However, the country is going through some tough times with questions on governance stemming from the Central Bank fiasco to the recent power cuts that have taken the Govt’s popularity to the wire. The latest update on the 2019 economic growth is being forecasted at 4% GDP growth for the year in the backdrop of a 1.8% more..

Apr 10 (CT) Provincial Councils (PCs) were the white elephant thrust down the throat of President J.R. Jayewardene by Indian PM Rajiv Gandhi in 1987. PCs were as a result of the agitation by Jaffna Tamils, originally for federalism and subsequently for separatism. PCs were a compromise between the two after India didn’t allow Colombo to militarily checkmate the Northern separatists in June 1987, by using its Air Force to violate Sri Lanka’s air space on 4 June, 1987, as a warning more..

Apr 10 CT) A video that warrants the strongest possible content warning, featuring an act of extreme violence inflicted upon a popular actress, has been released on social media [Colombo Telegraph refrains from providing the link to the video, in an effort to reduce clicks and further publicity to it]. The actress, Piyumi Hansamali, is a popular public figure with a very strong social media presence. The video shows a [cis] man assaulting the actress, violently trampling her neck more..

Apr 10 (FT) CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. The Parties to CITES are collectively referred to as the Conference of the Parties. Every two to three years, the Conference of the Parties meets to review the implementation of the Convention. more..

Apr 10 (EN) An audit of a foreign-funded project to improve power supply for remote islands off Sri Lanka’s northern Jaffna peninsula has revealed accounting misdeeds by the CEB, with even an internal auditor not appointed. Pay as you earn tax of 3.76 million rupees had been paid by the project in the year under review on behalf of CEB staff members, contrary to provisions in the Inland Revenue Act, according to the audit by more..

Apr 10 (EN) Cabinet of Ministers this week approved plans for the state power utility to buy 100 megawatts of emergency power from three private suppliers at prices ranging from 28.43 rupees to 30.63 rupees per kilowatt. The state information office said in a statement the deals are to buy the extra power generation capacity for six months to ensure continuous power supply in the country which has suffered daily power cuts this month. The power deals were approved by the Cabinet more..

Apr 10 (SLN) A group of Naval personnel attached to the North Central Naval Command together with officials of Wildlife Conservation Department-Mannar attached to the Madu office, nabbed 8 persons who were cutting mangrove shrubs, during a raid carried out in Udeiadi lagoon area, Wankalai, today (9). Few mangrove branches cut by them, two knives and 2 axe used for cutting mangrove were taken into naval custody. The suspects are residents of Mannar area in the ages of 43, 38, 31, 29,27 & 19. more..

Apr 10 (EN) Sri Lanka’s unregulated financial institutions thrive on the financial ignorance of the people by exploiting vulnerable households, Ravi Abeysuriya, an investment professional, said. “Many unregulated financial institutions operate in the country because they thrive on the financial ignorance of the people,” said Abeysuriya, Director of CFA Society Sri Lanka, the local chapter of Chartered Financial Analysts institute. more..

Apr 10 (Island) President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday donated two million rupees to Airwoman Ayesha Dilhani who recently gave birth to quadruplets (two boys and two girls). Dilhani and her husband were unable to support the four infants with their salaries and after she appealed to the President through the programme Janapathita Kiyanne (Tell the President) about her plight, Sirisena ordered his officials to request Dilhani to visit the Presidential Secretariat. more..

Apr 10 (AD) Governor of the Southern Province Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon has signed the Gazette notification for the dissolution of the Southern Provincial Council, with effect from midnight today. The term of the SPC ended at midnight yesterday while the final session of the council was held on Monday. The terms of office of the Eastern, North Central and Sabaragamuwa provincial councils ended in 2017 while the terms of the North Western and Northern PCs ended last year. more..