May 1 (ST) Two major hospitals worked with clinical precision, at very short notice, in the wake of the Easter Sunday suicide bombings that shook the country. The call to the National Hospital Sri Lanka (NHSL) came just after 8.45 a.m. on April 21, about the Kochchikade Church and three five-star hotel blasts and into action they went, with all the “key” people of the Disaster Management Committee being informed immediately. more..

May 1 (Island) TNA Jaffna District MP M.A. Sumanthiran on Monday (29) alleges that the Easter Sunday carnage was a result of Sri Lanka’s failure to ensure certain basic values. Attorney-at-law Sumanthiran waned of dire consequences unless the govt addressed the grievances of the minorities. The lawmaker said so at an event organized by Sinhala weekly Annidda to celebrate its first anniversary at the BMICH. more..

May 1 (Island) J.C. Weliamuna, PC, on Monday dismissed assertions that intelligence failure that led to the Easter Sunday carnage was caused by weakening of the intelligence services. Weliamuna strongly denied the accusations. Estimating the number of intelligence personnel in remand custody pending investigations between 25 and 50, he said that intelligence services comprised approximately 12,000, more..

May 1 (Island) Gevindu Cumaratunga, convenor of Civil society group Yuthukama said that the country had to pay a very heavy price due to it being run by a dead govt since December last year. Addressing the media, yesterday, Cumaratunga emphasized that the Easter Sunday carnage proved beyond doubt that the govt was dead. Had it not been dead, the terrorist attack could have been thwarted, he said. more..

May 1 (PTI) Sri Lanka's political parties and trade unions shunned holding big May Day rallies on Wednesday in view of the fluid security situation following the country's worst terror attacks on Easter Sunday which killed over 250 people. A normal May Day or International Labour Day would see long processions of political parties during the day with large rallies till late in the evening. more..

May 1 (IANS) Two largest cable operators of SL have blocked controversial Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik's Peace TV following the Easter Sunday carnage in the island nation in which 253 people died. India and Bangladesh have already banned Peace TV, which has often been used by the Islamic State recruiters for indoctrination and brainwashing youth. Two of the largest cable operators of SL, Dialog & SLT have stopped more..

May 1 (PTI) Four oceanic scientists were among the six Chinese nationals killed during the Easter Sunday bomb blasts in SL, Chinese Embassy said. The deceased included Li Jian, 38, and Pan Wenliang, 35, who were senior engineers at the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (SCSIO). Two others, Li Dawei, 30, and Wang Liwei, 26, were from the First Institute of Oceanography more..

May 1 (CT) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe, in a special statement issued yesterday, stated Vesak Poya Day could not be postponed. As a result there will be many Dana, Seela and Bhavana campaigns during Vesak Poya, he hoped that all Buddhist clergy will have discussions with their Dayaka Sabhas and take preventive measures security-wise. PM added that more details have also been unearthed more..

May 2 (Island) For too long have many of us in this country remained silent whilst our politicians have dragged this country to the gutter. I also need to state that I am apolitical, largely as a result of my strong belief that all SL politicians are downright crooks and gain power to serve themselves as opposed to serving the people of the country. It does not really matter whether they are green, blue or red. I also strongly believe that we would not have defeated the LTTE under a govt headed by more..

May 2 (CT) Perhaps the most absurd perversion of the President’s manifesto occurred with regard to the second subject of his longer manifesto, which he titled A Development Economy. A quick look at the first five items in that section suggests that those he put in charge of economic policy worked on the assumption that making a mockery of these items was their first priority. One can almost imagine Ranil and Malik discussing after their preposterous Cabinet was sworn in more..

May 2 (ST) Where do we begin to tell the story of the tragedy, the anguish, the shock, the support, the strength and the reconciliation after the massive terrorist bomb blast on Easter Sunday in Katuwapitiya. Having walked the length and breadth of this mainly Roman Catholic village where they are still burying the dead or having buried their dead are in deep mourning, we will begin with two parallel roads. more..

May 2 (Island) On Monday, my 12-year-old son learnt his classmate had passed away at the Intensive Care Unit, a victim of one of the blasts in Colombo. My son’s mother and I grew up in the long shadow of the Black July anti-Tamil pogrom and the UNP-JVP violence in the late 80s. For many in our generation and older, there is a normalization of violence. This is often confused with getting used to or accepting violence. After the Christchurch massacre in March, many Kiwis trying to more..

May 2 (DN) As a young professional Chartered and Management Accountant who served as Chairman of three state institutions including the People's Bank during the tenure of President J R Jayewardene and continued as Chairman of People's Bank during the period of President Premadasa and was later appointed as the Chairman and Director General of the Greater Colombo Economic Commission which was later converted to Board of Investment (BOI) of SL, as First Chairman of the renamed BOI more..

May 2 (SO) The time was 10.45 am when we reached St. Anthony’s Church aka Kochchikade Shrine last Sunday. However, the clock which stands in the left upper corner of the church showed the time as 8.45 am which had stopped functioning indicating the bloodbath beneath its hands on April 21. Centuries-old Catholic church was cordoned off by a yellow tape, an indication of a crime scene, and a Navy soldiers blocked our way to church. more..

May 2 (CT) It can happen only in Sri Lanka, or, so it seems. Maybe because the Nation’s politicos could not have waited through the decades of JVP insurgencies and LTTE terrorism, the Nation’s political class has begun playing dirty even before the blood that the Easter attack victims had shed, dried up. Nothing else can explain how and why President Sirisena should publicly demand the resignations of Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and IGP Pujith Jayasundara for more..

May 2 (Island) Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith has delivered a holy slap across the face of the yahapalana administration, which offered him a bulletproof car. Declining the offer, the other day, he urged the govt to ensure the safety of the entire population, instead. Even the ranks of Tuscany could scarce forbear to cheer. The exemplary manner in which, Cardinal has conducted himself in the aftermath of the Easter bombings has endeared him to the public immensely. more..

May 2 (CT) One can but hope that when the reader reaches the end of this piece it will not leave them wringing their hands in helplessness but provide at least a modicum of hope for the future of a land which promised so much when we first became independent in 1948. The church-bombings and subsequent security force responses have been widely enough covered to make any lengthy reference to them redundant. However, the simple question that all those in authority have to more..

May 2 (CT) Today’s Daily Mirror front page has this gossip which is dangerously misleading. It implies that I was to attend the Easter Service at Zion Church, Batticaloa on April 21st but desisted from doing so because President Mahinda Rajapaksa called and warned me of the impending suicide attack! I wish to categorically state that this is absolutely false. On April 21st I attended an Easter service in Colombo as usual, unaware of any threat. When I learnt of the bomb blasts more..

May 2 (Island) In spite of being seated next to Prez Sirisena, Northern Province Governor Dr. Suren Raghavan, last week, obviously didn’t hear what the Commander-in-Chief told a group of print and electronic media journalists and proprietors of privately-owned media invited for a special briefing on the Easter Sunday carnage. The briefing, last Friday (26), at the Prez’s House, began 30 minutes later than scheduled time. more..

May 2 (Island) In a bid to revive their 15-a-side Rugby in Asia, Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) has organized a tour to Malaysia. The team will play a couple of friendly games against Malaysia. Malaysia (48), despite being five places below Sri Lanka (43) in World Rankings, have given plenty of focus to their 15s game recently, which has seen them playing in the top tier of the Asian Rugby Championship alongside Hong Kong and South Korea. Sri Lanka was focused mainly on more..

May 2 (CT) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has decided to take additional measures to strengthen the security of the National Team who are taking part in the forthcoming Cricket World Cup 2019 in England and Wales, said an SLC Press release yesterday announcing the SLC executive committee decisions. “The SLC is working on the matter in consultation with the Ministry of Sports and the ICC” release further said. Meanwhile SLC has decided to donate Rs 2 million to the Relief Effort Fund of more..

May 2 (ICC) Kumar Sangakkara will take over as MCC President on 1 October for one year. His nomination was announced today at Lord's by the current President, Anthony Wreford, at the MCC Annual General Meeting. The Sri Lankan will become the first non-British President of the club. The appointment marks further involvement in the club for Sangakkara, who delivered 2011 Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture and more..

May 2 (ST) Almost a quarter-of-a-century ago, when the 6th Cricket World Cup (WC), also known as the Wills WC, was about to be launched, not a single bookie, local or otherwise, offered any odds for Sri Lanka (SL) to clinch the 1996 WC Trophy. Not without reason either. After all, the island nation had lost the most number of WC matches until then, namely 20 out of 26 games, and comfortably ended scraping the bottom of the heap on each of the 5 previous occasions as also-rans. more..

May 2 (DN) Gihan Suwaris and Fathoum Issadeen will lead the eight-member Sri Lanka team to the 20th Asian Individual Squash Championship which began on May 1 and will continue till May 5 at Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. Seventy-eight players from 14 regions are playing in this tournament namely SL, ChineseTaipei, Hong Kong, China, India, Iran, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar & Thailand. Most experienced player Suwaris will lead the men’s team. more..

May 2 (FT) The tourism industry is calling for a single yet joint and urgent effort for the crucial revival, fearing multiple overtures by different parties in an uncoordinated way could aggravate the post-Easter Sunday extremist terror attack crisis. The appeal comes hot on the heels of the Govt deciding to set up a Cabinet Sub-Committee with five Ministers to spearhead the tourism revival on Tuesday. However, more..

May 2 (Island) Easter Sunday suicide attacks had wreaked havoc with the number of visitors to the Dehiwela zoo. The number of visitors was down to single digits during the weekend and the trend continues. "We get about eight visitors these days," said Gardens Deputy Director Anoma Priyadharshani. She said that they were providing the best security for the visitors. The Zoo has a collection of exotic and indigenous fauna and is one of the oldest zoos in Asia. more..

May 2 (EN) Govt will become a signatory to a long term loan sought by CHEC Port City, a firm that has reclaimed 269 hectares of sea off Colombo, from China Development Bank. Cabinet had given the go ahead for the Megapolis and Western Development Ministry to sign a loan agreement with CHEC Port City (Pvt) Ltd and the CDB. The use of the proceeds of the loan was not specified. CHEC Port City was expected to build some infrastructure including a tunnel to access the reclaimed area and more..

May 2 (SLA) Army troops across the country while focusing their attention largely on Muslim-dominated concentrations during their intensified search and clear operations conducted in the past 12 hours in close coordination with sister services and Policemen succeeded in arresting several suspects and recovering a large cache of arms, ammunition, explosives, detonators, swords, det chords, gelignite sticks, more..

May 2 (Island) LAUGFS Terminals Ltd officially inaugurated operations of its state-of-the-art LPG Transshipment Terminal at the Hambantota Int'l Port, largest of its kind in South Asia, with the first of its LPG cargo brought in by the SL flagged vessel Gas Success, part of LAUGFS Maritime’s own LPG vessel fleet. New LAUGFS LPG Terminal is an important energy infrastructure in the Indian Ocean, having strategically located amidst key int'l maritime trading routes connecting West to East. more..

May 2 (Island) Former chairman SL Tea Board Dr. Rohan Pethiyagoda speaking to the Oxford Business Group ( OBG) recently said the 20 hectare limit on land ownership in SL impedes investment in modern large scale agriculture. ‘If you do not own the title to your land why would you invest in developing it? The statutory 20 ha – limit on land ownership impedes investment in modern large scale agriculture’, he is reported to have said as indicated in the recent OBG publication, more..

May 2 (AD) Murder of Chief Incumbent of Mapalagama Vidyathilaka Pirivena Ven. Mapalagama Gunasiri Thero is neither a racist act nor has it any links to the terror attacks on Easter Sunday, Minister Vajira Abeywardena said, issuing a statement. The statement was issued to unveil accurate information concerning murder as certain individuals are likely to spread misleading news in this regard. more..

May 2 (DN) Colombo Business Association (CBA), called upon the govt to come up speedily with a viable solution to revive the economy by supporting the business community that had been severely affected by the recent terror attacks in Colombo that brought all business activities in Colombo to a standstill. CBA Secretary General Chaminda Vidyanagamage, said the Association had written to President, PM, Finance Minister and the CB Governor, highlighting key issues that have more..

May 2 (AD) The Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm FANI over West-central Bay of Bengal to the Northeast of Sri Lanka, is likely to move north-northeastwards while moving away from the island towards the Odisha coast of India. The Met. Department said it was located near latitude 15.2N, Longitude 84.1E at 11.30 p.m. of 01st May 2019, about 750 km northeast of Jaffna. Cloudy skies, strong winds and showery conditions are expected to continue over SL & surrounding sea areas. more..

May 2 (AD) President Maithripala Sirisena has received the interim report of the Commission appointed to investigate the Easter Day attacks yesterday (30). The President mentioned this at the SLFP May Day commemoration held at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute, today (01). President Sirisena stated that he will discuss this with the Attorney General tomorrow (02) and take necessary action on the matter. more..

May 2 (PMD) 26th commemoration ceremony of late President R, Premadasa, was held under the patronage of Prez Sirisena in front of the Premadasa statue near the Hulftsdorp Court Complex, today (1). PM Ranil Wickremesinghe, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, Ministers and MPs, Madam Hema Premadasa and others participated in this event. President paid honours to the statue of Premadasa offering a bouquet of flowers. Later, PM, Speaker, Madam Hema Premadasa and more..

May 2 (Reuters) The Shiv Sena, a Hindu nationalist group allied with PM Narendra Modi, called on Wednesday for a ban on veils after Sri Lanka prohibited the garments worn by some Muslim women following militant bomb attacks there. Sri Lanka imposed its ban on Monday to help security forces identify people under an emergency law put in place after Easter Sunday suicide bomb attacks in churches and hotels killed more than 250 people. “We welcome this decision and demand PM more..

May 2 (DM) British Govt has consistently made clear its unreserved determination to fight the scourge of terrorism, the British High Commission (BHC) in Colombo said. Issuing a statement following reports that suggest that Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith might have questioned the UK’s commitment to the fight against terrorism, BHC said UK Unreservedly committed to fight terrorism on UK’s own soil and to help others to fight more..

May 2 (Island) Muslim Religious Affairs and Posts Minister Abdul Haleem, yesterday, stressed that he had not permitted the setting up of a single mosque of National Tawheed Jamath (NTJ). "These people are known to create problems like All Ceylon Jamath (ACJ) and Sri Lanka Tawheed Jamath (SLTJ)," he added. He also said that some even had gone to courts against him. However, NTJ was not keen to come out and conducted its activities at homes close to mosques. more..

May 2 (AN) Saudi Arabia advised its nationals to leave Sri Lanka, Al-Ekhbariya state TV reported, citing the Kingdom's embassy in Colombo. "Due to the current security situation in the Republic of Sri Lanka, the embassy advises citizens in Sri Lanka to leave," the embassy said in a tweet. The advice follows suicide bomb attacks on hotels and churches that killed more than 250 people, including 42 foreign nationals, on April 21. The warning follows an announcement by the US ambassador more..