Jun 6 (AFP) A set of photos has been shared thousands of times a month after SL's deadly Easter Sunday bombings in Facebook and Twitter posts that say they show Muslim militants handing over a haul of weapons to the military. The photos are being used in a misleading context; they do show Muslim groups surrendering weapons, but the event took place in 2009, not after the 2019 attacks. Multiple Facebook posts contain more..

Jun 6 (DN) new garbage mound is being created at Karadiyana causing an environmental hazard affecting the Muthurajawela Marsh land and the Hamilton Canal. This garbage mound could cause a similar hazard as the Meethotamulla mound did, Minister Champika Ranawaka said. He said the first phase of the Aruwakkalu Scientific Garbage Recycling Plant has been constructed. He requested the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC), Provincial Council & Local Govt Ministry to take more..

Jun 6 (TG) Indian PM, Narendra Modi, is to visit Sri Lanka from June 8 - 9 along side the Maldives, the country's External Affairs Ministry said. India's foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale said the visit was intended to send a very clear message of solidarity following the Easter Sunday suicide bombings by Islamist extremists. His visit would make Modi the first foreign leader to visit the island since the attacks. Modi is expected to hold talks with not only SL's Prez & PM, but also Leader of opp. more..

Jun 6 (DM) Legal and administrative steps would be taken by the govt shortly to prohibit the import of tree cutting machines, chain and mechanical saws and carpenter sheds popularly known as Wadu Maduwa to protect the environment and in particular the forest density of the country, Prez Sirisena declared today. He added that people would have to import furniture as deforestation and tree cutting would be banned fully. more..

Jun 6 (AD) The interim report of the Presidential Commission probing fraud and corruption at state institutions from 2015 to 2018 has been handed over to the President. President Sirisena appointed a Presidential Commission of Inquiry to investigate into allegations of corruption and malpractices that had taken place from 15th January 2015 to 31st Dec 2018. Retired Supreme Court Justice Upali Abeyratne was appointed the chairman and former HC Judge Kusala Sarojini Weerawardena, more..

Jun 6 (Island) The foundation stone will be laid today at Pilleyaradi, Batticaloa, for a building complex to house Faculty of Health – Care Sciences of the Eastern University. The faculty is currently housed in renovated storage facility of the Paddy Marketing Board. The building complex will be constructed at a cost of Rs.7.9 billion with the financial assistance of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development. The Cabinet approved this project on April 02 on a proposal made by more..

Jun 6 (Island) Discussions should be held among political leaders, the security forces top brass and intelligence services before emergency was lifted, JO spokesperson Keheliya Rambukwella said yesterday. He emphasised that unilateral decisions shouldn’t be made as national security was at stake. Former minister said so when The Island sought JO’s response to recent assertion by President Sirisena, who is also more..

Jun 6 (AD) MP Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe has sent a letter to the Speaker Karu Jayasuriya to gain his attention towards acts of jeopardizing national security. The letter containing 12 pointers has been copied to 11 persons including the President, PM, Opposition Leader, and all media institutions. Referring to the Official Secrets Act No 32 of 1955, the letter points out that the Easter Sunday attacks cannot be discussed at the parliament or any of its committees under the Sub-Judice rule more..

Jun 6 (CI) Maharashtra batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad hit a career-best 187* (off 136 balls) to lead India A to a 48-run win against Sri Lanka A in the first unofficial ODI in Belgaum on Thursday. Put in to bat in a match reduced to 42-overs a side, Gaikwad led India A to 317 for 4. In reply, Sri Lanka A could only muster 269 for 6. Shehan Jayasuriya made 108 not out from No.4, but off 120 balls, with the visiting side never seriously threatening the target. Gaikwad stayed brisk from the start when more..

Jun 6 (AFP) Dimuth Karunaratne insists Sri Lanka can end their wretched World Cup record against Pakistan when they clash in Bristol on Friday. Pakistan have won all seven World Cup encounters against Sri Lanka dating back to the inaugural World Cup in 1975. But Sri Lanka are optimistic afte recovering from a crushing 10-wicket defeat in their opening match against New Zealand. A hard-earned 34-run win against minnows Afghanistan more..

Jun 6 (FT) The Australian Govt is providing support in carrying out investigations on the Easter Sunday terror attacks on 21 April which killed over 250 people. Visiting Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton yesterday said that his country had provided assistance to Sri Lanka, sending a team of over 20 members to assist Sri Lankan Intelligence teams investigating into Easter Sunday terror attacks apart from those already on the ground. The Minister noted that the team had more..

Jun 6 (AD) IGP Pujith Jayasundara, testifying before the Special Parliament Select Committee, stated that, on 20th of April, he had received a telephone call that something could happen on the 21st. Former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando had given the said telephone call between 6.30 pm to 8.00 pm, IGP said. According to the IGP, he was only told that there is an imminent threat and that something could take place the following day. IGP added that he subsequently informed more..

Jun 6 (CT) It would take time to draft new laws for school education, with the aim of desegregating children according to their ethnicity and it would only have to be done with the concurrence of the Ministry of Education, UPFA MP Lasantha Alagiyawanna said. He said that with the proposals put forward by the SLFP, to stop education based on ethnicity and religion, by introducing common laws regarding education, they would have to be more..

Jun 6 (PTI) Britain Thursday relaxed its travel advice for its nationals planning to visit Sri Lanka after the deadly Easter Sunday terror attacks claimed 258 lives, including that of 44 foreigners. After a series of bomb attacks on churches and luxury hotels on April 21, the UK Foreign Office warned people against all but essential travel to the island nation. Countries like India and China have also relaxed their travel advice to their nationals following an appeal from the Sri Lankan leadership more..

Jun 6 (AD) A group of MPs of the SLFP have presented a special letter to President Maithripala Sirisena requesting him to contest in the upcoming presidential election. They have requested him to take the lead in forming a broad alliance with the anti-UNP groups in view of the elections. MPs Senior Vice President of SLFP Nimal Siripala de Silva, SLFP Chief Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekara, Mahinda Samarasinghe, Sarath Amunugama, Duminda Dissanayake, Faiszer Musthapha, more..

Jun 6 (DM) Except for Minister Kabir Hashim, all other eight Muslim ministers have handed over their letters of resignation to the Presidential Secretariat by this evening, sources said. It was reported that Minister Kabir Hashim has not tendered the letter of resignation since he has undertaken a foreign visit. Accordingly, Ministers Rauff Hakeem, M.H.A. Haleem, Rishad Bathiudeen, State Ministers Faizal Cassim, more..

Jun 7 (CT) The recent spate of events begs the question, are we a shameless people? Reflect on how the majority among the Sinhalese community and some of the monks conducted themselves in the aftermath of 21/4. Evaluating it through the prism of collective conscious of French sociologist Emile Durkheim, there is a clearly an aberration in the behavioural pattern of these people. Absolutely exaggerated, irrational and abnormal. To cite an example, harassment caused to Muslim more..

Jun 7 (CT) The resignation en masse of two Muslim governors and all Muslim ministers and deputies is an unprecedented political act in the history of SL democracy and Muslim politics. If they had not relinquished their privileges yet, as some reports suggest, and in accordance with the official requirement of such resignations, they should do it immediately to make their action above board. The only acceptable reason for the resignation was to prevent a highly probable island-wide more..

Jun 7 (CT) In an alarming report by the UN it was recently announced that nearly one million species of animals in the world risk extinction, many in decades. The report further stated that current efforts to conserve these species were likely to fail unless radical action is taken in this regard. The report - a Global Assessment done by Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) more..

Jun 7 (DN) Sri Lankan Muslim community faces an unprecedented dilemma with the political leadership placing itself in an unenviable position. For the first time in recent history, the political leaders of the Muslim community found that a wrong decision at this moment could put the community interests in jeopardy, and cause irreparable damage to the Sinhala-Muslim harmony. The collective resignation by all the Muslims from their ministries, state ministries and deputy ministries has given more..

Jun 7 (Island) A number of factors indicate the state of the economy of a country. Among these are growth rate, trade deficit (TD), exchange rate (Rs/US $) and debts. During the period 2011-2018, as shown in the table indicated below, the growth rate of Sri Lanka has declined after 2015 . It dwindled from 5.0 % In 2015 to 3.2% in the year 2018. The Trade Deficit (difference between exports & imports- TD) has increased from US$ 9710 million in 2011 to US$ 10,343 million in 2018. more..

Jun 7 (DN) Days after the barbaric Easter Sunday terrorist attack on innocent Christians, the authorities announced that the next target of the terrorists was Hubbu mosques, the mosques with graves of Islamic saints. Apart from the announcement possibly having been based on the intelligence reports, the logic behind it was that the terrorists were Wahhabis, who were against Muslims respecting graves of saints. more..

Jun 7 (GV) After the Easter Sunday attacks, there has been a reinvigorated interest in education reform. Yet disappointingly, the sway of this discourse is too clouded by political gaffe for it to catapult towards any meaningful change. First, the controversial Sharia-law university came under fire in the immediate aftermath of the attacks. Amidst the subsequent Islamophobic blather, oscillated a new camp of objective academics and activists calling to secularise education, highlighting it more..

Jun 7 (GV) On May 31, MP Athuraliye Rathana Thero began a death fast in front of the Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy. His demand: the resignation of Minister Rishad Bathiudeen and Governors Azath Salley and M L A M Hisbullah from their posts. On June 3, crowds began gathering at the Dalada Maligawa. General Secretary of the BBS, Gnanasara Thero issued a deadline of 12 pm for Athuraliye Thero’s demands to be met. As tensions rose, Governors Hisbullah & Salley resigned more..

Jun 7 (DN) Up until recently, not a lot was known about the Bar Reef in Kalpitiya. But, by the time we learned its value, we’d nearly lost it forever. The Bar Reef, located two km off the coast of Kalpitiya is in fact the largest coral reef and the largest protected marine area in Sri Lanka. While it was declared a marine sanctuary in 1992, the reef remained relatively unexplored or otherwise affected by human activity due to the then ongoing civil war. However, the reef has since taken a dramatic more..

Jun 7 (Island) Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya is reported to have appointed a seven-member bench of the Supreme Court to hear fundamental rights petitions against former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and IGP Pujith Jayasundera for their alleged failure to prevent the Easter Sunday attacks. This is welcome news in that a person’s right to life takes precedence over all other rights and the public officials who do not care to protect the public must be brought to justice. more..

Jun 7 (CI) Sri Lanka fans, look away now. What's that? You already were, even after the rousing dogfight of a win over Afghanistan… Okay, well, these are tough times, so that's understandable. But up next is an opponent that Sri Lanka have never beaten in World Cup competition. Yes, that's right. Against Pakistan on the biggest one-day stage, your team's record reads: played seven, lost seven. more..

Jun 7 (CI) Nottingham is where, for most of recent history, Australian teams have come to die. They fell narrowly short in a 2013 Test match, before being destroyed by the swinging ball on a crazed morning in 2015, then beaten to a pulp by England's batsmen in an ODI last year. Against West Indies they seemed destined for a similar fate, losing four early wickets as the ball pranced, swung and reared at helmets and throats. Somehow, though, Aaron Finch's men scrounged their way to a 10th more..

Jun 7 (CI) Sarfaraz Ahmed must feel like he is always sitting on a hot stove. After a loss, he has people questioning his fitness. After a win the same people go 'unpredictable Pakistan, mercurial Pakistan, cornered tigers' and what have you. A week into the World Cup and the team has already experienced a roller coaster of sorts as they prepare to run into Sri Lanka. It says much about Sri Lanka's position that a win against Afghanistan is looked at as an upset in several quarters. more..

Jun 7 (Island) Buoyed by the first leg’s impressive performances SL’s track and field team will vie for more honours when they take part in the second leg of the Asian Athletics Grand Prix in Chongqing, China today. The team of nine won two second places and two third places at the first leg on Tuesday. Sooriyawewa athletes Nimali Liyanarachchi and Gayanthika Abeyratne were placed second and third respectively in the women’s 800 metres. more..

Jun 7 (DN) SL’s chairman of selectors Ashantha de Mel who is in England with the World Cup team in the dual role as selector cum manager said that lack of self confidence was the main cause for the team not performing to potential. Sri Lanka lost their opening match against New Zealand by ten wickets after being bundled out for 136 and against Afghanistan it was their bowlers who won the match after another familiar batting collapse that saw them dive from 144-1 to 201 all out. more..

Jun 7 (AD) The police have obtained a court order preventing Venerable Akmeemana Dayarathana Thero from holding a protest in Dehiwala tomorrow (7), says SP Ruwan Gunasekara. The police said that information was received that Venerable Akmeemana Dayarathana Thero had organized a protest march and a meeting in an illegal manner. Dehiwala Police has told the Mount Lavinia Magistrate’s Court that his march and the meeting could cause unrest among the general public more..

Jun 7 (FT) Supreme Court by Order dated 3 May 2019 stayed the prosecution of Dr. Sena Yaddehige by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Dr. Sena Yaddehige has at all times maintained his innocence and has made his submissions to the SEC, stating that the SEC should not in any way or manner prosecute him, a statement from the company said. Notwithstanding his submissions, SEC launched a prosecution in the Fort Magistrates Court, despite a matter pending in the CA more..

Jun 7 (EN) Sri Lanka will be signing a revised double taxation agreement with Denmark to include revenue taxes, the cabinet office said. "With the expectation of improving the economic relations between the two countries, Sri Lanka and Denmark has entered into an agreement at official level for avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion pertaining to economic activities," cabinet office said. The cabinet approved Minister Mangala Samaraweera's proposal to sign agreement more..

Jun 7 (DN) Minister Sagala Ratnayaka said that in view of the country’s recovery from the Easter Sunday explosions, the govt had embarked on ambitious plans to transform Sri Lanka into a vibrant maritime hub in the region. Addressing the opening of the SL Pavilion at the Transport Logistics Fair 2019 in Germany, Ratnayaka said the heads of our security forces had assured the govt that nearly 99% of these groups have been dismantled. more..

Jun 7 (EN) The Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators welcomed the UK's decision to relax its travel ban on Sri Lanka. "We welcome the relaxation of the travel advisory with open arms because the UK is a very important market for us," President Harith Perera said. "The UK is the biggest European market, so we are very happy about it and I hope business goes back to usual numbers," he said. The British made up 11% of tourists who visited Sri Lanka in 2018. more..

Jun 7 (DM) Sri Lanka Port Authority (SLPA) has deferred the proposed hike in port tariffs until December, to support the economy in the aftermath of Easter Sunday attacks, SLPA Chairman Kavan Ratnayaka said. “We will make a decision in December whether to increase port tariff or not; until then, the tariff structure prior to Dec 31, 2018 would be in place,” he said. He noted that the committee, which was appointed to look into the issue on the request of industry stakeholders, more..

Jun 7 (FT) Power and Renewable Energy Ministry has increased the rates paid under its solar power net metering programme following extensive lobbying by stakeholders in the industry, with CEB being instructed to give connectivity for solar connectivity within two weeks of request. Following a series of meetings chaired by Minister Ravi Karunanayake with participation of all stakeholders, the Ministry has taken steps to more..