Jan 31 (Island) Out of Rs. 46 billion allocated to SriLankan between 2012 and 2014, Rs. 41.96 billion had been paid to Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) as per the instructions of the Treasury which defeated the purpose of the capital infusion, the PCoI was informed yesterday. Yasantha Dissanayake, Head of Financial Management at SriLankan told the PCoI that govt had agreed to provide USD 500 million more..

Jan 31 (Island) A petition started by Anoka Abeyrathne, a citizen who was deeply concerned about the state of the laws pertaining to animal welfare, calling for the immediate enactment of the Animal Welfare Bill to replace the outdated colonial era 1907 law was handed over to Minister P Harrison yesterday. Issuing a press release on this Otara Foundation, a charity focused on animal welfare, stated that the petition received more..

Jan 31 (DM) A 24-year -old Iranian woman has been arrested on possession of 400 grammes of Kush narcotic substance at the BIA early this morning, police said. Police Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekera said the woman, who had arrived from Doha, Qatar was arrested by the Police Narcotic Bureau (PNB) officers at the Airport. She had concealed the narcotic substance in a false bottom of her luggage. more..

Jan 31 (DN) State Minister Ranjan Ramanayake has filed a list of witnesses in the Supreme Court which includes President Maithripala Sirisena and 41 others regarding the Contempt of Court case against him. According to the list of witnesses of Deputy Minister Ranjan Ramanayake, President Maithripala Sirisena has been named as the first witness to give evidence with regard to comments made by him in reference to more..

Jan 31 (AD) The decision of the Permanent High Court-at-Bar on whether it has jurisdiction to hear the case against former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and six others over the D.A. Rajapaksa Museum will be announced on February 11. Last week, the former Defence Secretary had raised preliminary objections through his counsel that Colombo Permanent High Court-at-Bar does not have jurisdiction to hear more..

Jan 31 (CT) Democracy is the cornerstone of our Republic: a system that empowers its citizens to choose their own destiny rather than letting despots and dictators steer the ship of the State. Sri Lanka is the oldest democracy in Asia, a veritable Athens of the East, and a shining example for other regional nations to follow, heralding an era of autonomy for the people of the orient. However, things in Asia’s oldest democracy are changing fast. Threats of ethnic clashes, the rise of demagogues and more..

Jan 31 (FT) This section begins with a stage-setting discussion of the relative importance of supply-side and demand-side factors for SL’s export performance and the compatibility of SL trade patterns with that of the existing and potential FTA partners. This is followed by a preliminary assessment of the trade outcome of SLIFTA and SLPFTA. Perhaps the best readily available indicator of the relative importance of demand and supply factors in determining a country’s more..

Jan 31 (CT) Controversial judge Deepali Wijesundera today withdrew herself from the bench hearing the case challenging the parliamentary seat of PM Ranil Wickremesinghe, citing personal reasons. Shermila Gonawala, a Rajapaksa supporter and the Co-President of Women for Justice filed a Quo Warranto petition in the Court of Appeal claiming that Ranil Wickremesinghe is a shareholder of a private company that entered into agreements with the govt institutions and more..

Jan 31 (AD) The Colombo Magistrate’s Court has ordered the CID to present submissions on Feb 5, regarding the motion submitted by Geoffrey Aloysius, the Chairman of Perpetual Treasuries Limited (PTL). The motion requesting the court to temporarily lift the overseas travel ban imposed on PTL Chairman was taken up before the Colombo Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne today. The attorneys representing Geoffrey Aloysius informed the Colombo Magistrate that their client is to more..

Jan 31 (DM) The Minuwangoda Urban Council (MUC) together with the Western Provincial Council (WPC) launched a mobile app in a bid to streamline the garbage collection process in the local govt area. The pilot project, will cover the Minuwangoda residential area for the moment but can be considered the stepping stone for the development of a communicative digital platform between residents and officials. more..

Jan 31 (DM) Seychelles Vice President Vincent Meriton will arrive in Sri Lanka today for a two-day visit. The highlight of his visit is the handing over of two NOS wave rider inshore patrol crafts which are donations from the Prez Sirisena to the Seychelles coast guard following his state visit in Seychelles last October. The two crafts will be used for maritime surveillance. The handing over ceremony which will take place on Friday 1st Feb, will be in the presence of President Sirisena. more..

Jan 31 (EN) Minister Arjuna Ranatunga said new measures were being introduced at the main international airport to reduce delays in clearing immigration and customs. Delays were caused by increased tourist arrivals and bunching of flights during certain times of the day at the airport in Katunayake, north of Colombo, he said. “Most of the delays are in clearing immigration,” he said. “Sometimes, 2–3,000 passengers disembark at the airport within just one hour.” more..

Jan 31 (EN) An expert committee appointed by President Sirisena had suggested finding a strategic partner to make the airline viable and cutting debt by selling down holdings in peripheral units, State Minister of Finance Eran Wickremeratne said. SriLankan Airlines now has US$ 900 million of liabilities and had run a string of losses since Dubai-based Emirates was jettisoned as managing shareholder in 2008. more..

Jan 31 (DN) A prison sergeant, who had attempt to smuggle 20g 260mg of Heroin in to the premises of Welikada prison, was nabbed by a team of prison officers this evening. The arrest of the suspect prison sergeant, was done by the prison officers, under the instructions given by the senior superintendant of Welikada Prison T.I. Uduwara and also the chief jailor of Welikada Prison Prasad Prematilaka. It was further reported that the prison officers had found Rs 85,000/- and more..

Jan 31 (EN) Ceylon Grain Elevators, a feed milling and poultry group warned that demand for meat was weakening amid a currency fall and an infestation of the Fall Armyworm was pushing up domestic prices of maize, which has import controls. The group reported profits of 218 million rupees for the December quarter, up 13.8% from a year earlier. "Group has been able to improve profitability despite the adverse effect of upward revision in fuel prices, the continuous depreciation of LKR more..

Jan 31 (AD) President Maithripala Sirisena says the Department of National Archives has provided copies of valuable documents to foreign countries without any knowledge of the state. President made these remarks at the Matara district convention of drug prevention program held at Sanath Jayasuriya Stadium in Matara today (30). President Sirisena said that the people involved in drug trafficking are the ones who deplore more..

Jan 31 (SLN) Following information given by the High Commission of Malaysia to the Maritime Rescue Coordinating Centre stationed at the Naval Headquarters, SL Navy today (30) rendered assistance to bring ashore a sailor who was taken ill onboard Royal Malaysian Naval Vessel KD Kasthuri. On receipt of the distress call, Navy promptly dispatched a Fast Attack Craft (FAC) attached to the Western Naval Command to retrieve the patient. Accordingly, the patient was transferred to more..

Jan 31 (DM) Consequent to Prez Sirisena’s discussion with Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong on his intention to revise the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries, the govt will appoint a committee to identify the areas to be amended in it, Minister Malik Samarawickrama said. He said that he would submit a Cabinet paper next week seeking approval to appoint a committee to study the areas that should be revised. Afterwards, he said the findings would be referred to more..

Jan 31 (DM) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe will meet party leaders next week to discuss and come to a final decision on the passing of amendments to the Provincial Councils electoral system in order to hold PC polls under the old system and also the possibility of holding elections before May 31, following Prez Sirisena’s request made to cabinet on Tuesday, Minister Lakshman Kiriella said. more..

Jan 31 (CT) A team from the People’s Alliance for Right to Land (PARL) went to Keppapulavu on 26 Jan to support the reclaiming of lands occupied by the Military since 2008. The community has been engaged in a continuous protest for almost two years. Protestors this weekend faced intimidation and harassment by Police, and were under constant surveillance by the Military, a PARL in release issued claimed. Representatives will meet Prez Sirisena and other relevant stakeholders, more..

Jan 31 (DM) Prez Sirisena has said he instructed the Navy Commander to arrest sand racketeers. He said this while addressing the Environmental Pioneer Presidential Medal Awards Ceremony held at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo on Wednesday. Referring to the recent incident in Trincomalee where there was a commotion when the Navy was attempting to arrest illegal sand miners, the President said the Navy should act without fear or favour. more..

Jan 31 (CT) Department of Wildlife Conservation will celebrate National Wetland Day at Ape Gama under the patronage of Minister John Amaratunga & Dy Minister Ajith Mannapperuma. The ceremony will be held on 1 Feb to commemorate World Wetland Day which falls on 2 Feb. “Focus on protecting wetlands around the world has become important taking into consideration destruction of the wetlands by man. more..

Jan 31 (CT) Committee for Protecting the Rights of Prisoners (CPRP) in a letter of demand, sent to the IGP yesterday, threatened to take legal action against the latter if no investigation is commenced into the assault of prisoners by Prison officers at the Angunakolapelessa Prison on 22 Nov 2018, within five days of the receipt of the letter. The letter was sent by Chairman of the CPRP, Attorney-at-Law Senaka Perera on behalf of the complainant cum Secretary of the CPRP, Sudesh Silva. more..

Jan 31 (DM) The principal of a leading school in Horowpathana was arrested by the Bribery Commission officials for accepting Rs. 5,000 as a bribe. Bribery Commission Director (Investigation) SSP Priyantha Chandrasiri said the principal has allegedly solicited a bribe of Rs. 10,000 from the parents of a student in Morawewa to enroll a child to the Grade 6. The principal was arrested while accepting Rs. 5,000 in his office today. He would be produced in the Horowpathana MC. more..

Jan 31 (CT) Several civil society groups, mainly from the North and East and members of war victims’ associations, have written to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (HCHR) Michelle Bachelet Jeria that the UNHRC 30/1 Resolution has been proactively and deliberately abandoned by the SL State. They also expressed concern over the current state of affairs in SL and the lack of progress on peace and justice. more..

Jan 31 (NR) Director General of the Treasury HG Sumanasinghe has been appointed as the Acting Director General of the Sri Lanka Customs. The Ministry of Finance said the appointment was made on a temporary basis following discussions with Customs officials who are currently engaged in a work to rule campaign, until a solution is reached over the matter. Officers attached to the Sri Lanka Customs are engaged in a work to rule campaign since last evening against the appointment of more..

Jan 31 (DM) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between SL and China is expected to be signed in 2019, China Daily reported on Thursday quoting the SL Embassy in China. The sixth round of negotiations to formulate the FTA had been concluded in March 2017. Meanwhile, SL Ambassador to China Karunasena Kodituwakku has said Sri Lanka is very keen to expand its exports to the Chinese market. “SL considers the China International Import Expo an important platform for its products to enter more..

Jan 31 (CT) Former SL cricketer and cricket commentator Russel Arnold, said that the SL national cricket team players should be banned from using social media. Arnold’s remark came following Thisara Perera’s letter to CEO of SLC Ashley de Silva regarding alleged social media rift between him and Skipper Lasith Malinga’s wife in Dec 2018. “SL players should have been banned from social media long ago!” more..