Jan 23 (FT) I’m conflicted about the presidency we have. Do we need it like a fish needs a bicycle, or a baboon needs a parliament? Has the opportune time come for stakeholders as diverse as civil society led by a free media movement, conscientious objectors to executive decisions and the JVP, to push 20A through the House – and get rid of it, once and for all? Have would-be statesmen done tinkering with it to meet their petty, partisan or personal agendas? Whatever the answers are, more..

Jan 23 (CT) President J. R. Jayewardene when he launched the almost successful Operation Liberation military operation on 26 May 1987 to rid the country of Northern terrorists, quoted Roman philosopher Cicero, In times of war laws are silent (Inter arma enim silent leges). However, the operation was thwarted after India threatened to invade Sri Lanka, nine days after its launch, with its Air Force violating Sri Lanka’s air space on 4 June 1987. Nonetheless, the charade of a military operation continued more..

Jan 23 (AD) UNP MP Field Marshall Sarath Fonseka says that he is hoping to get a proposal approved at the parliament regarding additional ministerial posts. Speaking to the media in Peliyagoda, he said he will have to go to the Supreme Court if there are any obstacles regarding the proposed names. Fonseka points out that, constitutionally, the PM has the right to appoint any ministers; however, his ministerial post has been rejected due to the conflict with the President, he said. more..

Jan 23 (DM) Eighty-seven 81mm mortar bombs and four pressure bombs which were believed to be buried by the LTTE, have been recovered by the STF at a forest land at Ampan in Jaffna today, STF Commandant Senior DIG M.R. Lateef said. The weapons were recovered following information received to the Point Pedro Navy Camp which later informed Jaffna STF Camp. Weapons were found buried at a forest near a playground. 4 pressure bombs, each weighing around 13 kgs, more..

Jan 23 (CT) The fake director of Sri Jayewardenepura General Hospital (SJGH) Susitha Senaratne’s wife Ancy Senaratne’s proxy company has been awarded a mega deal ensuring that Susitha Senaratne and Ancy Senaratne have paid themselves Rs 17 679 747 of public money between the time period of Nov 2015 to Dec 2018. These facts have been revealed by Govt Auditor’s audit query in to this massive fraud more..

Jan 23 (EN) The United States Navy is doing a cargo transfer operation at Sri Lanka’s main international airport under a plan to use the island’s location to make it a military logistics hub, the U.S embassy in Colombo said. Under the initiative, several U.S. naval aircraft are scheduled to land and depart from the BIA outside Colombo, a commercial airport, bringing in a variety of non-lethal supplies, a statement said. The supplies will be transferred between planes and then flown to more..

Jan 23 (NR) UPFA MP Namal Rajapaksa says he recorded a statement before the CID for several hours today. In a tweet the MP said he recorded a statement pertaining to a statement made by the Indian national arrested over the alleged VVIP assassination plot. MP Rajapaksa also called for an independent investigation into the matter. Summons were issued for MPs Namal Rajapaksa and Wimal Weerawansa including the wife of MP Weerawansa Shashi last week, to appear before the CID more..

Jan 23 (DM) Sri Lanka is likely to apply for another dollar loan from the IMF after the last tranche of US$ 1.5 billion was paid in late 2019, Treasury Secretary Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunga said. He said two teams of top officials from the IMF and Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) are due in mid Feb to finalize the future programmes and the 5th tranche of the US$ 1.5 billion loan from the IMF and to conclude discussion on the US$ 450 more..

Jan 23 (DM) The Buddha Statue statement made by the new governing one for the North soon after assuming duties had stirred a hornets’ nest among the Pohottuwa ranks. The new governing one had said in public: “I, as a Buddhist take exception to the practice of installing Buddha statues indiscriminately here and there in the North-East.” Some Pohottuwa Diyawanna members and several Buddhist organizations reacting angrily to this statement had met the former strongman and more..

Jan 23 (Island) The GMOA, expressed its unconditional support to the anti-drug campaign launched by Prez Sirisena. "We have never seen a Sri Lankan leader take such a brave step," Secretary of GMOA, Haritha Aluthge said. "As doctors we have seen the devastation caused by drugs first hand and, thus, we decided to support the President’s anti drug campaign." Aluthge said that the introduction of a hotline to directly lodge complaints with the Police Narcotics Bureau was a timely step. more..

Jan 23 (CI) Russel Arnold believes that trust will take a beating in the Sri Lankan game following the raft of corruption allegations in recent times, to the extent that even team-mates may not feel able to trust each other. There is currently an ICC amnesty in place for anyone to come forward with further information. This, after charges against three former players, including Sanath Jayasuriya & Nuwan Zoysa, under anti-corruption code. more..

Jan 23 (AD) A deep political discussion should be held within the country regarding the existing political, social and economic issues, said the General Secretary of JVP, Tilvin Silva. He mentioned this attending the Lenin Kiyawamu conference held in Colombo yesterday. According to him, the current economy is a husk of an economy as all sectors of the economy has collapsed. Currently, there are crises within the field of education as well, says Silva. more..

Jan 23 (EN) Sri Lanka will get US$ 200 million from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development of the World Bank to strengthen primary health care and manage non-communicable diseases which are becoming an increasing economic burden on the island. The funds will be to implement the Primary Health Care System Strengthening Project. It aims “to increase the utilization and quality of primary health care services, with an emphasis on detection more..

Jan 23 (CT) Agriculture Minister, P. Harrison said the Cabinet had approved paying compensation to farmers who had lost their crops to the fall army worm. Addressing the Media, Harrison said the issue of the devastation being caused by the worm that seemed to prefer corn crops had been placed before the President, PM and Cabinet within the course of the past two days. more..

Jan 23 (AD) Estate workers have today launched a strike action demanding the promised increase in their daily basic wage up to Rs 1000. Accordingly, the estate workers of Hatton, Bogawantalawa police divisions had protested on the main roads while carrying black flags. As the trade union leaders had not increased their daily basic wage to Rs 1000 as promised, they had to resort to a strike action again, said the protesting estate workers. Discussions were held between the govt, estate owners more..

Jan 23 (Island) Apropos Health Minister: Tobacco companies behind fag smuggling on front page of Jan 21, 2019 edition of The Island, Ceylon Tobacco Company (CTC) has sent us the following statement: "The above news item refers to several statements allegedly made by Minister Rajitha Senaratne, that "Tobacco companies were behind the smuggling of foreign cigarettes to SL…" and "These tobacco companies smuggle cigarettes into the country and then tip off the authorities. more..

Jan 23 (CT) Over 15 professional groups, including Inland Revenue officers, educational services, doctors and engineers have given a 14-day ultimatum to President Maithripala Sirisena to publicise the Presidential Committee (PC) report on Public Sector Salaries. They also vowed to take tough trade union action if the officials of the Presidential Secretariat failed to adhere to the deadline. Chairman of the Joint Committee of more..

Jan 23 (CT) UPFA MP Susantha Punchinilame yesterday said in Parliament that he would not hesitate to use his hand gun issued for MPs if he or his family members’ safety comes into question. Punchinilame made this remark while referring to the recent incident where a herdsman had allegedly attacked him with a sickle when his vehicle had attempted to navigate through a flock of goats owned by that herdsman. The incident was claimed to have taken place in Agbopura, Trinco. more..

Jan 23 (CT) Former Heads of Institutions under the Ministry of Fisheries have refused to vacate their posts, even after receiving notice from the Ministry Secretary, claimed Chairman of Jathika Sewaka Sangamaya (JSS) attached to the Ministry, D.V.S.P. Bandara. He said Heads of these Institutions have also taken steps to transfer employees who are JSS Members and who opposed their decision to stay. “For 24 years, this Ministry has been governed by Ministers of SLFP, naturally Heads of more..

Jan 23 (AD) Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa says that opposing the draft constitution put forward by the present govt does not mean that they as the opposition are slamming the door shut on constitutional reform. He said that they acknowledge that extensive reform of the present constitution is necessary and that the 19th Amendment alone has created a great deal of confusion that needs to be put right. more..

Jan 23 (AD) Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court has allowed the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) to detain and question the 5 suspects arrested with over 95kg of heroin in Kollupita. Accordingly, the PNB will detain the suspects until 29th of Jan for further questioning. The detention order was issued when the suspects were produced before the Colombo Fort Magistrate today. 95kg 88g of heroin was seized in a special joint operation carried out by the PNB and STF officers in Kollupitiya area more..

Jan 23 (AD) The name of the country should be changed from Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka to either the Republic of Sri Lanka or just Sri Lanka says TNA MP M. A. Sumanthiran. He states that although they agree to act as a unitary state, they do not agree to label the country a Unitary State. He says his party interprets the phrase Unitary State as one country. According to him, they have fought for a separate state for 30 years and now they have arrived at more..

Jan 23 (NR) The Fall Armyworm or locally known as Sena caterpillar once again took centre-stage in Parliament today. Opposition MPs continuously hurled allegations at the govt of taking a laid back approach and disregarding the inconveniences faced by Agri farmers in the country. However Minister of Agriculture P Harrison re-asserted his claims that the present administration has taken several measures to curtail more..

Jan 24 (CT) Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s recent interview where he attempted to deflect his involvement with the murder of Lasantha Wickrematunge is but a futile attempt made to a supine journalist who never asked him any follow up questions. At one point Gotabaya states that he knows who murdered Lasantha and the late Editor’s daughter Ahimsa, who lives overseas must come to him in SL to find out who murdered her father. Every once in awhile Gotabaya wakes up to deflect charges more..

Jan 24 (CT) This writer recently viewed the newest film doing the rounds in the local theatre circuit Mathew, (Sinhala copy) directed by noted filmmaker Chandran Rutnam and it was up to scratch, to a certain extent, but there were notable holes as well. It must be said at the outset that the movie was decent in its portrayal of Father Mathew Peiris, an Anglican Priest who murdered his own spouse and before that, the spouse of his mistress. It is pretty obvious that Rutnam has based his story, more..

Jan 24 (Roar) Some 30 km from Kilinochchi town, the slick, tarred A9 road veers sharply off onto a dusty track to the left, taking us on a bumpy ride towards Iyakkachi. The road is mostly desolate, except for a few people riding slowly on bicycles under the hot northern peninsula sun. Vast tracts of land lie undisturbed on either side, until quite suddenly, you come upon a large construction; a new Hindu kovil glistening in morning sun. more..

Jan 24 (CT) President Maithripala Sirisena sent a strong message to the UNP when he took a group of SLFP MPs with him as part of the Presidential delegation while on an official visit to the Philippines this month. Accordingly, Dilan Perera, Lasantha Alagiyawanna, Nishantha Muthuhettigama, Sarathi Dushmantha Mithrapala, Lakshman Perera, Angajan Ramanadan and Sriyani Wijewickrama were the recipients of an textravagant holiday in the Philippines at the expense of the taxpayer. more..

Jan 24 (Island) Meeting President Maithripala Sirisena, earlier this month, for a courtesy call, which lasted longer than originally anticipated, was Jaffna born, Deputy Mayor of the Norwegian capital city of Oslo, Kamzy Gunaratnam. Born in Jaffna, to parents who both hailed from the peninsula, her parents took their young family and fled the fighting up North and the country as refugees, when she was three years old and eventually ended up in Norway. A little over a decade later, Kamzy as a teenager more..

Jan 24 (Roar) With the advent of fast and affordable internet, Sri Lankans intending to educate themselves on all things technological have a ready path to do so. Today, a SL student aspiring to become a web developer can learn everything he needs to, thanks to the internet. High quality online courses with well-produced videos are more accessible since we don’t have to put up with video buffering that takes ages. more..

Jan 24 (SO) Q: What is your take on the Draft Constitution that the expert panel has put together? A: There is no such Draft because the govt says there is no Draft but only talking material. But in the English version there is a water mark that says draft constitution. but the Sinhala and Tamil version has not said that, and at the same time the UNP has not given their stance on it, as to what they are looking for. they say everything in the Draft is what they believe in, but more..

Jan 24 (SO) In formulating Policies and guidelines on reparations, the Reparations Act requires that the Office be guided by the principles of non-discrimination, victim-centrality and fairness… And yet, while emphasising the need for equity and impartiality the Act also states that the Office owes due consideration to the special needs of women… (Article 12 (1) (c)). What are these special needs and why is a special mention of this important? Answers to these were provided by more..

Jan 24 (ST) Govt is facing an uphill task of politically controlling the administrative machinery in several state institutions coming under the purview of non-Cabinet ministers owing to their limited powers in decision-making on policy matters. Five non-Cabinet ministers have been appointed to the subject ministries of Economic Reform and Public Distribution, Digital Infrastructure and Information Technology, Science, Technology and Research, Labour and Trade Union Relations and more..

Jan 24 (CT) A news item on the front page of a local daily a few days ago carried a statement by Dayasiri Jayasekara, General Secretary of the SLFP, stating that an agreement had been signed between the Govts of the USA and UNP to grant 35,000 acres of land adjoining the Trincomalee Harbour to set up a military base. Additional information emerged that US military vehicles could travel anywhere in our country, and that when the need arises, they could use our bases anywhere in the country, more..

Jan 24 (CI) Fifth ball of his Test career, no runs yet to his name, Dhananjaya de Silva slinked out of his crease, and with a languid swing of the bat, stroked Steve O'Keefe over the long-off boundary. They were spectacular first runs; it would turn out to be a spectacular first series. Though de Silva made only 24 in that innings, he gathered momentum through the course of SL's whitewash over Australia; a rising ocean swell. more..

Jan 24 (Island) SL has now woken up to the fact that the fall armyworm caterpillar, also known as Sena has arrived in SL. This is what is known as a Grey Rhino event – that is, an event whose coming is obvious but totally ignored because the attention is directed elsewhere. The armyworm arrived in Africa by 2015-16 and landed in India in 2016-17. However, in SL scientific agriculture had been hijacked out of the agricultural and environmental scientists, and taken into the hands of NGOs more..

Jan 24 (Island) The UNP claims to have been revitalised thanks to President Maithripala Sirisena’s ill-advised, abortive attempt to capture power in Parliament, with the help of the Joint Opposition, last October. It says it is now united and stronger than ever while the SLPP and the SLFP are in total disarray. If so, it must take time by the forelock and go for elections before its enemies regroup. But it is fighting shy of doing that. Deputy Minister Nalin Bandara, on behalf of the UNP, more..

Jan 24 (CI) If Tim Paine and Dinesh Chandimal find the moment for a chat during this brief series they won't be short of captaincy stories to share. One is the accidental skipper, the other the captain of a team where the longevity of the role can be decided on the whim of an administrator. They are also linked, dare we say, by the spectre of ball-tampering. It was the infamous use of sandpaper in Cape Town that propelled Paine into his more..

Jan 24 (Island) While winning a Test match in Australia remains his number one aim, opening batsman Dimuth Karunaratne is also excited about the prospect of scoring a Test hundred here. Not many Sri Lankan batsmen have returned from Australia with their heads held high and Karunaratne is keen to make an impact and follow the footsteps of few of his predecessors. "The last time we were in Australia I scored 85 in Sydney. It give me confidence. more..