Jan 6 (ST) As the country recovers from the nation’s worst political crisis in recent times, the country’s most diversified conglomerate, John Keells Holdings (JKH) PLC is gearing to partake in Sri Lanka's growth story. JKH’s new Chairman, the young Krishan Balendra noted that the group is betting on tourism and MICE with Cinnamon Life, consumer growth with the new ice cream plant and new soft drinks and ice cream flavours, new convenience food products, more super markets, more..

Jan 6 (EN) Sri Lanka's hydro power output rose 87% from a year earlier to 3,428 GigaWatt hours in the nine months to Sept 2018, amid strong rainfall. Total generation expanded 3.9% to 11,436 GWh, in the nine months. Electricity generated from coal fell 9.2% to 3,725 GWh, while power from fuel oil fell 22.9% to 1,518GWh. Purchases from the private sector fell 11% to 2,764 GWh. Private renewable power purchases, mostly mini hydro were up 23% to 1,256GWh as rains improved. more..

Jan 6 (DM) Mihin Lanka has paid a loan of Rs.8.2 million for a car (Nissan- N16) which was gifted to Astrologer Sumanadasa Abeygunawardena by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the year 2007, Astrologer informed the PCoI. He said that in 2007 he had received a call from the ex-Chief Security Officer of former President Major Neville Wanniarachchi to collect the particular car from LOLC at Rajagiriya. more..

Jan 6 (AD) A suspect has been arrested in connection with the incident where a caged dog was set on fire and inhumanely killed recently at a house in Negombo. Negombo Police had launched an investigation into the incident which had taken place at a house located at Koppara Junction in Negombo on the night of Dec 31, 2018. Based on the ongoing investigations, Negombo Police arrested a suspect at around 4 p.m. yesterday (5) in Periyamulla, the Police Spokesman’s Office said. more..

Jan 6 (Hindu) For Sri Lanka’s Eastern Province, the new year began with two stark reminders. It was the year 1948, when young American Jesuit priest Father Henry Miller, arrived in Batticaloa. He spent the next seven decades here, teaching at a local boys’ school, serving as a priest in the Jesuit mission and living as a witness in the war-ravaged district that he had made his home. On Jan 1, 2019, he passed away at 93, after a lifetime of courageous work as a peace activist. more..

Jan 6 (ST) State enterprises chiefs, including directors, who will be appointed by the new UNF Cabinet will be able to remain in office only if they have a degree from a recognised university after Prez Sirisena’s directive this week to follow a circular from his Secretariat in making appointments. Those presently serving have been asked to step down, so each case could be examined by an official committee headed by former Prez Secretary more..

Jan 6 (CT) Waters Edge is entering the New Year with the launch of its latest addition to Sri Lanka’s luxury hotel segment, the luxury glass-box fine dining restaurant, Fiftykay Orchids at the Edge, a Media release stated. This luxury fine dining restaurant, having been developed according to a concept by Megapolis and Western Development Minister, Champika Ranawaka, was declared open on 1 January under the auspices of PM Ranil Wickremesinghe as Chief Guest, more..

Jan 6 (NR) The new Laggala city built for those who lost their property due to the Moragahakanda Kalu Ganga reservoir, is set to be released to the public on the 8th of Jan by Prez Sirisena. The new Laggala city which consists of modern infrastructure facilities is another result of the Moragahakanda-Kaluganga Project, largest multi-purpose reservoir development project in four decades. The new city was built adjacent to the Kalu Ganga Reservoir to fulfill the service requirements of 3,000 families, more..

Jan 6 (CT) A train is due to travel, for the first time today (6), to test the new railway line constructed from Matara to Beliatta, opening a new chapter in the country’s coastal railway line. The track comprising 26 km was built at a cost of USD 278.2 million. A spokesman said the Matara-Beliatta railway line is expected to be open for the public within the next 3 months. This is the first phase of the railway line from Matara to Kataragama. more..

Jan 6 (ST) The crop-destroying Sena caterpillar has been found in pods of maize being sold at temporary street-side stalls along the Chilaw-Colombo main road. The caterpillar was discovered by officers of the Agriculture and Agrarian Service who conducted inspections of street-side stalls in the Mahawewa area. Officers found that some husks contained fully grown caterpillars while others contained larvae. According to officials, the Mahawewa-Madampe area is home to the country’s second largest, more..

Jan 6 (CT) Animal Welfare Activists held a peaceful demonstration outside Temple Trees yesterday and urged PM Ranil Wickremesinghe to take measures to enact the Animal Welfare Bill (AWB) after a Labrador was burnt to death in Negombo a few days ago. Animal Welfare Activists from Animal SOS Sri Lanka, Care for the Voiceless, Animal Rights Protection Force, Animal Welfare and Protection Association, Save a Paw with Love, Sri Bodhiraja Foundation and Embark were present more..

Jan 6 (ST) He has etched his name in a controversial chapter of SL’s political history with mistakes that stunned a nation and faced ignominy over violating the country’s Constitution. Now, just five days after the dawn of 2019, Prez Sirisena appears set to create more records, be it for good or for worse. It comes in the backdrop of issues that have overflowed from last year. One is the hearing by the Court of Appeal (CA) of a case where more..

Jan 7 (CT) The leader of a nation is like a parent to one’s children. The children emulate the examples set by the parent, for better or for worse. The morally upright parent sets morally upright examples and standards and ensures the children abide by them. What happens when the leader/parent is immoral, unethical and unprincipled? Obviously, the children/citizens, especially the young and impressionable will naturally follow the examples set by the leader/parent. more..

Jan 7 (CT) Our Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith holds the highest office in the Catholic Church in our country. By virtue of his position, he holds a direct link to the Holy Sea at Rome. I get the instinct that this gentleman isn’t conscious of his eminent position and doesn’t bear the required dignity of being its incumbent. Along with other similar religious dignitaries, the broad civil community in our country looks up to persons of his eminence to give leadership in voicing opinion, warning, more..

Jan 7 (SO) In some ways, Keith Noyahr’s abduction and assault in May 2008 was the harbinger of the more brutal crime that was to follow. At the time of his abduction, Keith Noyahr was the most senior journalist to be attacked during that dark era for press freedom in Sri Lanka. That dubious honour was claimed by his friend Lassie eight months later. Lasantha Wickrematunge and Noyahr were once colleagues at the Sunday Times. more..

Jan 7 (ST) Walking down the lane armed with a walking stick, Watson Perera, an elderly neighbour, waved at Kussi Amma Sera and her two friends while also shouting out, Ayubowan. At 72 years and retired from a public service job, Watson keeps fit by gardening and tending to a sizable vegetable plot in his backyard. He also has paddy lands outside Colombo which he occasionally visits. He believes he can still contribute to the country’s development through his expertise, knowledge, more..

Jan 7 (ST) Just when you thought it was safe to return to the water again and that the Lankan sea was calm again after 54 days of tossing and turning in turmoil, think again and brace yourself to what’s in store. New political tsunamis are afoot to lash the shore once more accompanied by economic earthquakes, and may well send shockwaves throughout the nation’s political, economic and social systems and make the dawned New Year Lanka’s Year of the Pickle. more..

Jan 7 (Island) The Iliad begins when the Trojan War is in its ninth murderous and exhausting year. In between trying to breach the famed walls of Troy, the Greeks raid nearby settlements for booty, material and human. Chryseis was taken captive in such a raid. Her father, a priest of the god Apollo, arrives in the Greek camp, carrying gifts beyond count, in exchange for his daughter. The bargain is a good one, & Greeks are willing. more..

Jan 7 (Island) There is redundancy in the 2019 air. Impeach, censure or force his resignation – all targeting Maithripala Sirisena for his rampant violations of the constitution in 2018. He deserves any and all of them. The question is whether he is worth the effort and energy that any one of them will involve. Impeaching him or forcing his resignation will only remove the man but will leave in place the institution of executive presidency that became Sirisena’s wrecking wrench. more..

Jan 7 (ST) When chastened supporters of the Rajapaksa-led Pohottuwa (lotus bud) Party bewail the Dec 2018 decision of the Supreme Court holding that the Presidential dissolution of Parliament was unconstitutional with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa having to step back from a contested Prime Ministerial seat and return to opposition ranks, a frequent lament is that they have no other court to appeal to, against that decision. Coupled with rude admonitions by rash Pohottuwa sidekicks more..

Jan 7 (Island) Article 33A of the Constitution states that the President shall be responsible to Parliament for the due exercise, performance and discharge of his powers, duties and functions under the Constitution and any written law. Parliament, therefore, has a constitutional duty to call upon the President to account for his actions, especially if it appears that he has acted outside and beyond his powers. Having done so, Parliament may, by a resolution passed with a majority vote, more..

Jan 7 (TT) When I was young, my father used to talk about a magical place called Trincomalee. Just the name sounded exciting, like soft breezes blowing through palms or a chime of temple bells. My father had been there towards the end of the Second World War as a 21-year-old naval officer and even in wartime it must have seemed like paradise after the hardships of North Sea patrols and the D-Day invasion. In 1945, Trinco’s vast natural harbour, among the largest in the world, more..

Jan 7 (CT) Doubts have arisen as to whether a scam has taken place in the purchase of scanners at the Dept of Immigration & Emigration. Officials say they were not consulted before the purchase of these scanners as it is they who know how the scanner machines work. In addition, they say the immigration and emigration process at the BIA has slowed down due to errors caused by recently, installed passport scanners. more..

Jan 7 (Island) If someone is genuinely interested in improving civil aviation in Sri Lanka, before starting with the National Carrier, the Regulator (Civil Aviation Authority SL) must be revamped. The company culture and some of the procedures are still what was established in 1947. With the formation of the Civil Aviation Department. It is alleged that corruption is also rampant in the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAASL). CAASL was inaugurated on 27th of Dec 2002 more..

Jan 7 (CT) After a rather mixed bag in the tests the SL effort in the first ODI despite the defeat has to be commended. As an optimist and someone who wishes to look at the positives rather than the negatives I am a half full man than a half empty person. Today’s column is penned from that perspective. To start with one has to accept that Sri Lankan performance in the white ball format has been poor for a very long time and the decline hasn’t been arrested in a meaningful way up to now. more..

Jan 7 (AD) According to former SL Cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan one doesn’t need to enter politics to serve the people. He says that he will never enter politics. However, through their association, he says that he will continue to serve the public by identifying people’s needs and working to fulfill them to the best of their abilities. Muralithran mentioned this addressing an event organized to distribute school bags to more..

Jan 7 (Island) An election year has dawned, and both the govt and the Opposition are limbering up for polls. The focus of the main political parties and their allies are on presidential and parliamentary polls. They do not seem to be setting much store by the delayed Provincial Council (PC) polls. Minister Rajitha Senaratne, asked by the media, over the weekend, to comment on the elections to be held this year, ruled out the possibility of early parliamentary polls. more..

Jan 7 (Island) As long as SL remains divided on lines of race, religion, caste, language, regions, poor and rich, the country will be devoid of the balance to forge ahead, says Sivaraja Rashasingham, PLOTE’s coordinator based in Norway. "The imbalance could open the door to outside forces to take control. It is left to us to decide whether to allow such forces to triumph or to take control ourselves without being slaves to external elements, who will have their way, if they succeed", he said. more..

Jan 7 (FT) Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) has landed an upward tariff revision on 1 Jan, increasing cost for exporters and importers allegedly without notifying the trade or the new Minister. Industry sources said the Port’s wharfage tariff for export containers and import containers and handling of their LCL (Less than Container Load) cargo has been exorbitantly increased by more than double, which is a dollar-based calculation. more..

Jan 7 (LR) SL’s Consul General ULM Jauhar was accorded a special farewell reception recently by well-wishers of the business community following a successful tenure in Toronto. Aijith Sabaratnam, former President of Canadian Tamils’ Chamber of Commerce (CTCC) hosted the private reception at Southern Aroma restaurant in Markham, Ontario. Jauhar who is a career-diplomat serving in the SL Foreign Service was thanked by members of community for promoting reconciliation and more..

Jan 7 (Island) Hayleys Advantis Limited, the transportation and logistics arm of Hayleys PLC, announced that it has entered into a landmark deal with Dubai-based Trustworthy.ae Group. Advantis is to operate and manage a state of the art Inland Container Depot (ICD) and third-party Container Freight Station (CFS) being developed by Trustworthy.ae Group in the Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (KIZAD). Advantis had to compete with 7 local and international bidders for this project, more..

Jan 7 (ST) Within a sprawling plot of bare land near the beach at Kurukkalmadam in Batticaloa is a mass grave that has not been excavated. The bodies buried there are from 1990, according to the Muslim residents of the area. The deceased are members of their community, more than 150, some insist, massacred by the LTTE that year. They can point out the precise location of the site. In 2014, Kaluwanchikudy courts ordered more..

Jan 7 (AD) The first ever test-run of the newly constructed Matara-Beliatta railway track was conducted today (6), under the patronage of Transport Minister Arjuna Ranatunga. However, when Minister arrived at the Beliatta Railway station to attend the event, a protest against the Minister was launched by a group of persons. Protest had been organized by a group of persons including the Chairman of Beliatta PC. They had protested against the Minister holding banners more..

Jan 7 (DC) Sabarimala tantri Kandararu Rajeevararu has said that there was no need for purification rituals as there was no confirmation of the SL woman’s entry to the temple. “If the rituals are needed, that will be done along with other poojas before Makaravilakku,” he said. The police have confirmed that Sasikala from Sri Lanka had come with her family and performed darshan at 10.46 p.m. on Thursday. However, Sasikala and her husband said she had gone only till Marakkoottam as more..

Jan 7 (Island) Sri Lanka Cricket chief Ashley De Silva confirmed to Sunday Island that there will be an internal inquiry on the conduct of ODI captain Lasith Malinga and former skipper Thisara Perera following the duo’s involvement in an ugly spat in social media. The national cricket team is currently in New Zealand and has already conceded the three match ODI series to the Black Caps. The controversy started when more..

Jan 7 (CT) Left arm spinner Lasitha Ambuldeniya ran through the Ireland ‘A’ line-up with a five wickets haul as Sri Lanka ‘A’ finished the day within striking distance of an easy victory in the first four-day encounter at the SSC yesterday. Resuming their first inning at 185-4, SL ‘A’ went on to score 308 courtesy of a 187 runs stand for the fifth wicket between Milinda Siriwardana and Kamindu Mendis. Siriwardana, who resume his inning on 73, completed his century more..

Jan 7 (Island) Professor Michael Bourne an expert on Business Performance from Cranfield Uni and Pippa Bourne, Director of the Centre for Business Performance will be in Sri Lanka to conduct a 2 day programme on 22-23 Jan. Professor Bourne will be the keynote speaker in the Translating Strategy into Action on the 22nd Jan which will also be supported by Phillippa Bourne who will be conducting a segment in the workshop. The one day workshop on Translating Strategy into Action for more..

Jan 7 (FT) The test-run from Beliatta to Matara stretch of the southern railway extension with the participation of Minister Arjuna Ranatunga took place amidst cheers and boos of the public. A group of supporters holding up photographs of former Prez Rajapaksa delayed the start of the train at Beliatta station by blocking the line while another group stopped the train midway, protesting about compensation. more..

Jan 7 (OS) SL spinner Malinda Pushpakumara claimed all 10 wickets in an innings in CCC's resounding victory over Saracens Sports Club. The 31-year-old tweaker took 10-37 from 18.4 overs as Saracens were skittled out for just 113 in Moratuwa to lose by 235 wickets. Pushpakumara's incredible figures were the best in a first-class match in SL. Left-armer also took 6-73 in the first innings and has been in outstanding form since featuring in two of SL's Tests in home series loss to England. more..