Jun 8 (FT) Govt yesterday told Parliament that ownership of the East Container Terminal (ECT) of the Colombo Port will be held by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), and that Japan and India would only collaborate to develop the terminal. According to the Govt, majority ownership of the ECT will remain with the SLPA. The proposed joint venture company will allow SLPA to own 51% of the stake, while the remainder will be more..

Jun 8 (ST) A project to construct a private campus in a 20-acre Batticaloa land provided by the state to the Ameer Ali Foundation has been put on hold on a directive of District Secretary M. Udayakumar. He said the project had been put on hold following complaints that the land had been allocated for the campus despite the area’s people not having land for resettlement. In 2017, the land was allocated to the foundation headed by State Minister Ameer Ali to build a campus with foreign funding. more..

Jun 8 (Island) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday discussed with a top UN delegation, Sri Lanka’s plans to introduce a Counter Terrorism Act (CTA) in place of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). They agreed that Sri Lanka needed foreign assistance, and funds required for the project could be released from the Treasury. The UN delegation comprised Masood Karimipour (UNODC), Hanaa Singer (UN Resident Coordinator), Leila Ezzarqui, Adria De Landri, and Gita Sabharwal. more..

Jun 8 (FT) In a rushed special Cabinet meeting lasting over an hour yesterday, President Maithripala Sirisena strongly opposed the Parliament Select Committee on the Easter Sunday attacks continuing its hearings, calling it a political witch hunt against him. An angry Sirisena accused some of the members of the PSC, MPs Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, Prof. Ashu Marasinghe, and more..

Jun 8 (DM) Decades ago, the famous singing duo Nina and Frederik wrote an immortal song relating to the ocean. It goes like this, “Listen to the ocean, echoes of a million sea shells, forever it’s in motion, moving to a rhythmic, unwritten music that’s played eternally”. Words such as these revive memories of a beautiful ocean, especially for islands like Sri Lanka, as the United Nations’ today marks World Oceans Day, amid a warning by the General Assembly Prez, that decades of overuse more..

Jun 8 (DM) If Ven. Gnanasara Thera boasted about priests in the island uniting in the face of meeting the challenge of extremists, he only has to look just a little far ahead to see another group working in similar solidarity. The Muslim politicians in Sri Lanka have come together in a move to protect their race and for this purpose they have tendered their resignations as state and Cabinet ministers. Muslims are largely traders and are a well-to-do community in the island. But after the April 21 massacre more..

Jun 8 (DM) This article is a direct translation from an interview with Professor Hemantha Senanayake, Head of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the Faculty of Medicine, Uni of Colombo appeared in Lankadeepa on June 04, 2019. "On a global scale regarding maternal healthcare, Sri Lanka is regarded as a forward-looking country. This achievement is not accidental and there are many reasons behind it. more..

Jun 8 (DM) The first few days of this month saw SL once again hurtling towards another orgy of anti-Muslim violence. Buddhist monk Ven. Athureliya Rathana Thera who is also a MP was on a fast unto death in the vicinity of Dalada Maligawa hallowed by Buddhists in SL and abroad. His demand was that Cabinet Minister Rishad Bathiudeen, Eastern Province Governor M.L.A.M. Hizbullah and Western Province Governor more..

Jun 8 (BBC) Distilled from the sap of the coconut flower, Sri Lankan arrack has been a local favourite for centuries. But now its makers are trying to take the spirit global, writes the BBC's Ayeshea Perera. It's served in some of London's most fashionable restaurants, like Dishoom and Hoppers. And the late food and travel writer Anthony Bourdain described it as tasting like "a marriage of bourbon and rum, but with a stronger, more..

Jun 8 (ST) Medical circles are abuzz with numerous stories doing the rounds of surreptitious and unethical sterilizations of mothers during Caesarean-sections (C-sections). While some Consultant Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (commonly called VOGs) said that such sterilizations could be performed by a skilled doctor, there was an outcry from others – both seniors and juniors – in this field that such action would not be more..

Jun 8 (CT) State Minister Ashok Abeysinghe yesterday, told Parliament that drivers who exceed a speed limit by 50% will be fined Rs 25,000. Abeyinghe, opening the debate on the second reading of the Motor Traffic Amendment Bill said, “According to these Amendments, drivers who exceed a speed limit by 20%, will be fined between Rs 3,000 and Rs 5,000. The drivers who exceed a speed limit by more..

Jun 8 (EN) Sri Lanka had racked up a subsidy arrears of 33 billion rupees by the end of 2018 to state and private banks over above market interest promised by the govt to senior citizens, Auditor General has said. "The liability has not been revealed in the Financial Statements and it had not been revealed in the financial statements of the relevant institution too," the AG said. Any arrears do not get captured as spending in that year more..

Jun 8 (FT) JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake criticised the Govt for its lack of transparency in not keeping Parliament informed on the progress of the Presidential Commission appointed to look into the Easter Sunday attacks, and requested clarification be given on whether the report will be tabled in Parliament. “Initially, it was held that the findings of the Committee will be made public within 2 weeks. more..

Jun 8 (NA) The Leader of the Opposition Mahinda Rajapaksa, on Saturday called upon the island’s Muslim community to stop the Arabization of their culture and return to the traditional SL Muslim culture. Rajapaksa said this at a meeting with the nine Muslim leaders who had quit the Council of Ministers in protest against the persecution of their community following the April 21 suicide bombings carried out by Jehadi NTJ. more..

Jun 8 (EN) SL's central bank has begun multiple forensic audits into alleged securities scams in selling bonds and managing a 2.2 trillion rupee EPF of private workers, a top official said. "There are six forensic audits that we are conducting," Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy said. "Five of them had started in April," he said. "Some of them will take about two to 3 months and the longest will take about 6-7 months." more..

Jun 8 (AD) The Chief of National Intelligence Sisira Mendis has resigned from his post with immediate effect. Mendis, Director of SL’s Centre for National Intelligence under the Ministry of Defense, had served as DIG of the CID and was also head of the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) from 2008 to 2009. The national intelligence chief’s resignation comes after testifying last week to parliamentary select committee more..

Jun 9 (SO) Indian PM Narendra Modi’s flying visit to Colombo today may be the continuation of age-old South Asian geopolitical ritual, but the prioritization of The Maldives and Sri Lanka as his first foreign destinations after re-election to power may signify a new emphasis on the Indian Ocean and new maritime horizons for Delhi. Ever the pragmatist – unlike some of his culturally militant (and deviant) vote banks – Mr. Modi is known not to prevaricate when it comes to decisive action. more..

Jun 9 (CT) President Sirisena called an emergency Cabinet meeting in which he had apparently asked the Govt to stop proceedings of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) appointed to probe and report to Parliament about the Easter Sunday terror attacks. According to the media reports published so far the Cabinet meeting was a heated affair and the atmosphere was far from being cordial. Amidst heated arguments between Prez Sirisena and UNP Cabinet Ministers, more..

Jun 9 (SO) Media activists call for an independent regulator and proper inquiry by Editors’ Guild into news story that took Kurunegala and the country by storm. For advocates of ethical journalism and fact-based reporting, the story of Segu Shihabdeen Mohamed Shafi, a doctor from Kurunegala is a cautionary tale. On May 23, a Sinhala language newspaper published a story that police investigations had been launched into more..

Jun 9 (Island) Moratuwa exploded with rage on Friday. A large number of people took to the streets, condemning a govt decision to ban carpentry workshops and saw mills. Among them were many carpenters and owners and workers of furniture shops and saw mills, we are told. They fear that they will lose their means of livelihood in the event the proposed bans coming into effect. Prez Sirisena, on the World Environment day, which fell recently, declared that the best way to protect more..

Jun 9 (ST) Serapina comes dancing merrily into the compound and goes to the Margosa tree where her friends Kussi Amma Sera and Mabel Rasthiyadu are having their tea, singing Naana..…..Waana. Hearing the din, I look out of the window to find Serapina loudly humming the tune of a new song that is making waves on social media. Nana, nana, mehe ahanne nana; Wana, wana, yuddhe ayeth wana: Oona, oona sama thamai oona, she sings. This is the chorus and it means more..

Jun 9 (CT) Athureliye Rathana Thera in a candid interview says that the fast he engaged in has awakened the people and that many were with him in his endeavour. However, Rathana Thera points out that Buddhists and Catholics have joined hands but that the Muslims were cornered because of ideological differences of 20 per cent of Muslims who were extremists and to fight this everyone should come together. more..

Jun 9 (ST) Not long after the heinous Easter Sunday bombings, this newspaper issued a word of caution to the authorities. In the pursuit of existing terrorist cadres and the sleepers, we warned, the tri-forces and police must heed the lessons of the past. They must refrain from breeding more terrorists in the process. This week, all Muslim ministers, State ministers and deputy ministers resigned from the govt along with two Muslim governors in response to a hunger strike by Ven Athuraliye Rathana more..

Jun 9 (ST) Athuraliye Rathana hamuduruwaney, I thought I must write to you since you are very much in the news these days, staging fasts unto death, and protesting against some governors and ministers continuing in office. You demanded that Aiyo Sirisena should sack them, and threatened to sacrifice your life if your demands were not met. I must say that all this came as somewhat of a surprise to us, hamuduruwaney. That is because, over the years, we have known you to be more..

Jun 9 (Island) It was obvious that the hunger strike started by Ven. Ahureliye Rathana Thera had not been well thought out or planned properly even by the Ven. monk himself. One day, we heard him speaking on the news channels giving the govt a 24 hour ultimatum to sack Minister Rishard Baithiudeen and Provincial Governors Azath Salley and M.L.A.M. Hisbulla and the next thing we knew was that he had started a hunger strike in the precincts of the Sri Dalada Maligawa. more..

Jun 9 (ST) One-week into this World Cup and it’s already proving to be a fascinating tournament with plenty of fantastic cricket and also some unexpected results, Pakistan’s upset against tournament favourites England being the most eye-catching. Pakistan were trounced in their first game by the aggressive West Indians, but they were a completely different team at Trent Bridge against England, mixing energy and fight as they piled-up a big total and then bowled skilfully, especially more..

Jun 9 (CT) Ahead of Indian PM Narendra Modi’s short visit to Sri Lanka, Prez Sirisena on Friday evening called an urgent special Cabinet meeting, leaving every sensible citizen with bated breath as it was too soon to forget Prez Sirisena chose Fridays to give political surprises ever since the constitutional impasse on 26 Oct 2018. Prez Sirisena’s call for a special Cabinet meeting came at a time when a group of more..

Jun 9 (SO) It was called a Fast unto death. It turned out to be a feast of fools. Feast of fools was a quasi-religious yearly event in medieval Europe. The purpose was to mock overbearing church dignitaries. Victor Hugo made it consequential in literature. In his Hunchback of Notre Dame, Quasimodo is crowned King of Fools in festivities of a feast of fools. The organized Buddhist church has now started issuing Fatwas in the form of Sangha Agnnas or edicts. It is time to take the bull more..

Jun 9 (CI) While some of his team-mates were having the time of their lives in the middle in the 2015 World Cup, James Neesham watched that semi-final against South Africa from the Eden Park grass banks. He later fell out of love with cricket and was talked out of retirement. Then, he himself conceded that he hadn't started his maiden World Cup well. After leaking 45 in five overs against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, Neesham led NZ's pace assault in Taunton, returning 5 for 31 more..

Jun 9 (Island) Sri Lankan captain Dimuth Karunaratne vowed his side will continue to fight until the end of their World Cup campaign after their game against Pakistan was abandoned without a ball being bowled. Both sides were coming into their third match with momentum on their side after bouncing back from disappointing defeats in their opening fixtures. Sri Lanka suffered a thumping 10-wicket loss to New Zealand in Cardiff more..

Jun 9 (SO) Insurance companies said they are geared to deal with any natural disasters that may trigger particularly from the current onset of the South West monsoon that is expected to intensify in the coming days. The country had been battered by flash floods for three consecutive years from 2014 to 2017 (and drought in between) that devastated paddy and a number of other commercial crops in addition to wreaking havoc on a large number of homes and the livelihoods of people. more..

Jun 9 (Island) Although some 47% users owned smart phones, other mobile phone users either said they did not need these devices or that such communication were too expensive, it was revealed at a seminar organized by LIRNEasia recently. Minister Ajith Perera, chief guest at the event, said in his keynote address that although findings were that 47% use smart phones and there were others who either said they did not need these devices, or were drawn away because of the price factor, more..

Jun 9 (ST) Sri Lanka’s ambitious Land Bank project aimed at improving access to private and state land while ensuring effective land management is now faced with tough challenges in computerisation of the information, Land Ministry officials said. Computerisation of the information on the lands presently available in written documents and inclusion of the same in the land information system is not upto expectations at present, more..

Jun 9 (SO) Nalanda Vidyalaya has been a prominent educational institution not only academically but also in sports. Nalanda’s progress in sports has been mainly in cricket, producing some of the leading cricketers that the country has been lucky to have. The first-ever Observer Schoolboy Cricketer produced by Nalanda was none other than Roshan Mahanama, an unique cricketer who later excelled for Sri Lanka and also served as a reputed ICC Match Referee. more..

Jun 9 (CI) England's batting engine room purred into life in Cardiff, setting up a total that their fast bowlers ensured was well out of Bangladesh's reach. Jason Roy top-scored with 153 and England reached a record seventh consecutive total of 300 or more, hitting twice as many sixes as they had in any World Cup match previously. Unchallenged, they soared to 386 for 6, their highest total in World Cups. Jofra Archer then bowled the fastest ball of the tournament, a 153kph stinger, more..

Jun 9 (ST) SL’s landmark 350-metre tall Lotus Tower slated to blossom in 912 days by 2015 following its ground breaking in November 2012 is still to see the light of the day owing to irregularities and embezzlements during the construction process. A Chinese conglomerate consisting of China National Electronics Import and Export Corporation (CEIEC) and Aerospace Long-March International Trade Co. Ltd. (ALIT) more..

Jun 9 (Hindu) Vimukthi Jayasundara’s mother liked to tell him all sorts of stories. The way she told them was always different; others could narrate the same story and it wouldn’t be the same. Cinema was a kind of storytelling too, she told her son, and he remembers his first trip to the movies with her — his first encounter with the moving image. It was a magical experience, recalled the 41-year-old SL auteur when I met him recently at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, more..

Jun 9 (EN) The Tourism Alliance, a travel industry group formed after the Easter Sunday attacks, will start talks with the govt to form a public-private partnership (PPP) to conduct market research and promotions, an official said. "Tourism Alliance will be proposing to the govt to undertake promotions as a PPP," Malik J Fernando, Managing Director at Resplendant Ceylon said. The Tourism Alliance moved fast to set up the Love Sri Lanka website to provide accurate, centralized information on more..

Jun 9 (Island) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe will personally receive Narendra Modi when the Indian leader arrives in Colombo today for a packed three-hour visit. "This is our PM’s focussed solidarity visit to convey the solidarity of the Indian people with the SL people barely seven weeks after the Easter suicide blasts rocked the island nation on April 21," Indian High Commissioner to SL, Taranjit Sandhu said. more..