May 22 (FT) The SLFP said that the priority at present is to carry out the legal and educational reforms needed urgently to address the current security situation, not destabilise the Govt. “No-Confidence Motion may be in the agenda of other parties but not in the SLFP agenda,” said SLFP General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekara, noting that the move will only delay the reforms needed to address the current situation in the country. more..

May 22 (FT) Minister Wajira Abeywardana yesterday called on journalists and the owners of media outlets to be responsible for their reporting and to stop spreading fake news. Addressing a gathering of reporters, Minister charged that a few erroneous media reports that could have triggered violence countrywide bring shame and devastation to the country. According to Minister Abeywardana, the Oppositions of the past Parliaments have extended unconditional support to eradicate terrorism. more..

May 22 (FT) Representatives of the private sector yesterday took a Pledge for Unity, a national initiative, marking one month since the Easter Sunday terror attacks in the country. Ceylon Chamber of Commerce CEO Dhara Wijayatilake said a group of nine chambers met last week to discuss the present situation in the country. “We decided that much has to be done to reunite a temporarily-fragmented Sri Lanka,” she added. “We discussed that the events that happened more..

May 22 (DM) It was decided at the party leaders’ meeting held at the Parliamentary complex that no date could be given to debate the no confidence motion against Minister Rishad Bathiudeen in Parliament, MP Dinesh Gunawardena said. Replying to the questions asked by journalists, he said Leader of the House Lakshman Kiriella was in a firm position that a debate for the NCM could not be given at this stage but should appoint more..

May 22 (Island) The Court of Appeal, yesterday, dismissed the Quo Warranto application filed against Ranil Wickremesinghe being a member of Parliament. SLPP Colombo Municipal Council member Sharmila Gonawala moved the court on the basis the UNP leader held shares in a privately owned company, while being a member of parliament, thereby, violating the Constitution. Gonawala appealed that UNP leader be removed from Parliament. Gonawala claimed that more..

May 22 (DM) Minister Rishad Bathiudeen and the two Governors Asath Sally and M.L.A.M Hizbullah who are alleged to have links with National Thowheed Jama'at (NTJ) should be asked to resign and subjected to an investigation, TNA MP Sivashakthi Anandan told Parliament today. He said this should be done immediately without wasting time on a no-confidence motion. “What is happening today is that President Sirisena wants to safeguard the two governors while PM Ranil more..

May 22 (DM) Minister Rishad Bathiudeen had informed the govt parliamentary group that he is willing to resign from all positions if he is found guilty by any investigation. Two govts MPs Ashu Marasinghe and Bandulalal Bandarigoda told a joint press conference in Parliamentary complex that the Minister informed this when the parliamentary group members questioned him on the charges that are being made against him. more..

May 22 (DM) The fear about Muslims after the April 21 massacre of Christians by a Muslim group at three churches and three luxury hotels that had engulfed the country seems to be fast fading away or no longer exists after the anti-Muslim riots in Puttalam, Kurunegala and the Gamapaha Districts on May 12 and 13. What really happened? Where has the fear gone? Did the rioters divert the attention of the people by diverting that of the security forces from recovering swords, knives, explosives more..

May 22 (DM) SL marked 10 years after defeating the LTTE on May 19, making the island nation reflect on what a deterrent an armed conflict can be to a country’s progress. The war took away lives, divided communities and denied us of the opportunity to make progress like other Asian countries. Rehabbed LTTE woman cadre the late Thamilini Jeyekkumaran in her book Under the shade of a sharp sword recalls a conversation she had with an old man who came to meet her at a tiger rebel camp. more..

May 22 (DM) US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Alaina Teplitz in her first interview with the print media after the Easter Sunday attack exclusively told the Daily Mirror how the US is committed to aid Sri Lanka to combat and defeat terrorism on the request of the SL Govt and how President Donald Trump offered the necessary resources in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday attacks to conduct the investigation. more..

May 22 (DM) In the present context, change is absolutely vital, not just necessary but absolutely vital! Country first should be everybody's prerogative, very specially the politicians. When it is time to put the country first, it is time for all you hypocrites we call politicians to go home. Taking into account what has been amassed, all of you have stashed away not just here in SL but in foreign banks too; it should be a free ride for you more..

May 22 (DM) They say crises are challenges clothed in hard choices. The current crisis in the country, the lack of clear, decisive and unfaltering leadership, more generally in the country and specifically in the UNP, is one such challenge clothed in hard choices. That challenge is more to the younger and up and coming second-tier leaders than to the one who is at the helm at this moment in time. more..

May 22 (Island) Govt is employing a large number of its henchmen in the education sector as sports instructors, watchers, etc., Professional Solidarity for Protecting Education, a collective of education unions says. Ceylon Teachers Union (CTU) General Secretary, Joseph Stalin said that the Ministry had sent a list of 217 political victims to the Public Service Commission (PSC) seeking permission to give them appointments. more..

May 22 (CT) Commissioner General of Buddhist Affairs, Sunanda Kariyapperuma said that over 130 Buddhist Temples had been closed countrywide, due to an insufficient number of Buddhist monks and various other reasons. He said that among the prominent reasons that had prompted the closure of the temples had been the lack of alms being received by monks regularly and unavailability of water & sanitation facilities. more..

May 22 (AD) Venerable Dambara Amila Thero says that racism has become a commodity under the social system today and that racism is marketed by politicians who are looking to come to power. He stated that while it is acceptable to ask Muslim women to take off their face veil due to security concerns it is wrong to do so simply due to religious reasons or because one cannot stand it. Thero also expressed his views regarding more..

May 22 (TOI) Even as DNA tests conclusively proved that Zahran Hashim, chief suspect of the Easter Sunday blasts in Sri Lanka, died in the attacks, India worries that the growing tensions between the nation’s Buddhist majority and Muslim minority might plunge the island back into another crisis of the kind that saw a bloody war culminating in the LTTE’s elimination a decade back. Given the fact that India shared detailed intelligence more..

May 22 (EN) Cabinet had given approval to buy 400 MegaWatts of emergency power for up to nine months to solve power crisis triggered by delays in building planned power plants. The state information office said 200MW of floating power will be bought at 26.20 rupees a unit for six months from June 2019 from a floating plant off Kerawalapitiya. Another 200 MW will be bought for nine months from September 2019. more..

May 22 (CT) Trade unions of the SL Railways has claimed that Minister Arjuna Ranatunga is attempting to obtain Cabinet approval to handover the maintenance of 12 major railway stations to a private firm, without going by the tender process. They have pointed out that even if a proper tender procedure is undertaken, whenever a State property is leased to the private sector, the time for signing an agreement that would benefit the Govt more..

May 22 (AFP) Sri Lankan social networks saw a surge in fake news after the Easter suicide bombings a month ago despite an official social media blackout, highlighting the inability of governments to contain disinformation, experts said. A nine-day ban on platforms including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and WhatsApp was introduced following the Islamic State-claimed attacks on churches and hotels on April 21 more..

May 22 (Island) SL mobile phone services operator Hutch will merge with another leading operator Etisalat and merger operations will probably start from next month, Hutchison Telecommunications Lanka CEO Thirukumar Nadarasa said. "Therefore, Hutch is now investing US $100 million to develop its 4G network to provide an effective and efficient service to customers, he said. He also said that plans are afoot to invest $ 200 million in the medium term post-merger with Etisalat to bolster 4G more..

May 22 (FT) It’s been one month since the murder of around 300 innocent Catholic children and parents but no has yet been charged for the biggest negligence of duty that SL has seen in recent history. Prez & PM have both denied any knowledge of the impending attacks when Indian Intelligence report states that way back on 4 April the Govt of SL was informed. Then again on 9 and 16 April, and finally just two hours before the attack on Easter Sunday, but the warning was not heeded. more..

May 22 (FT) Prez Sirisena has summoned a special security briefing on Friday, to discuss the current situation and action to be taken by the Govt. The briefing to be held in participation with representatives from all parties, security experts, priests, and defence journalists, SLFP General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekara said, speaking at a media briefing held at the Party head office. “Those who are interested and have expertise in the area should be aware of what is happening. more..

May 22 (CT) Govt yesterday decided to appoint a Parliament Select Committee to probe the allegations against Minister Rishad Bathiudeen levelled by the JO before assigning date to debate the JO’s No-Confidence Motion (NCM) against Bathiudeen. This decision was taken during the Party Leaders’ Meeting held at Parliament premises. The Opposition had protested the Govt’s decision. However, Govt had insisted on appointing a Select Committee as none of the allegations more..

May 22 (Island) Speaker Karu Jayasuriya yesterday informed Parliament that he had received the interim report of the three-member committee appointed by President Maithripala Sirisena to probe the Easter Sunday terror attacks. The Speaker promised to table the full report of the committee once he received it. Jayasuriya said so in response to UPFA MP Thushara Indunil who queried about current state of the inquiries more..

May 22 (CT) Ceylon Chamber of Commerce together with eight other chambers’ organisations at an event held at a leading Colombo hotel, yesterday, took a pledge to recognise the citizens of this country, irrespective of race, religion, social status or caste, as Sri Lankans. This pledge was made in all three languages, Sinhala, Tamil and English, in the presence of several of the country’s leaders in commerce and industry. The hotel where this pledge was made was one of three hotels more..

May 22 (DM) While saying that it was unfair to find fault with someone like Minister Rishad Bathiudeen, who has not been found guilty, Minister Navin Dissanayake said Minister Bathiudeen turned emotional when he spoke at the Cabinet meeting about the false allegations levelled against him. Responding to questions raised by journalists, Mr. Dissanayake said it seemed that many including the media were attempting to blacklist Minister Bathiudeen which only amounted to an act more..

May 22 (AD) Wellampitiya OIC has been transferred to the Galle Police Division with immediate effect, Police Media Spokesperson. The relevant action has been taken under the approval of the National Police Commission. Mohamed Ibrahim Insaf Ahmed, the suicide bomber responsible for the blast at the Cinnamon Grand in Colombo on April 21, is the owner of the copper factory at Wellampitiya. more..

May 22 (SLN) Few more weapons were recovered under the Gengea bridge in Muthur while continuing the diving operation commenced by the Navy on 18th May 2019. During the diving operation carried out for last three days several weapons were recovered. Accordingly, another few armaments were recovered by the operation conducted on 21st May. Recovered items included Seven (07) grenades, 34 Nos. of ammo (7.62 x 39) used for T-56 with a magazine, a bolt of SMG, more..

May 22 (Island) Supreme Court fixed, for May 31, the next date of calling of the petition filed by a father who lost his two children in a bomb blast at St. Anthony’s Church on April 21. The petitioner, Saman Sirimanne has cited as respondents the IGP and the Secretary Defence. He wants the court to direct the Attorney General to order the prosecution of the respondents for criminal negligence. The petitioner has alleged that the respondents had prior information about the terror attacks but more..

May 22 (Reuters) Weeping SL Catholics lit candles and prayed in a memorial service outside a bombed church on Tuesday, one month after Easter bombings by Islamist militants killed more than 250 people. The April 21 attacks, claimed by militant group Islamic State, targeted three churches and three luxury hotels, shocking the island and shattering a decade of relative peace after the end of a 25-year civil war. more..

May 22 (AD) Minister Champika Ranawaka says that it is not suitable to continue the Sharia University in Batticaloa even as a private institute. According to the Minister, university should be nationalized and converted into a state university. Institutes such as Sharia universities and Madrasah schools should not be allowed to operate as independent institutes. Many turn into violence based on ideas incorporated into the Quran by foreign teachers who come to teach at more..

May 22 (AD) The govt says that all public sector employees will be paid a special interim monthly allowance of Rs 2,500 effective from July 01, as announced by the Minister Mangala Samaraweera in the Budget 2019. A circular in this regard has already been issued by the Ministry of Public Administration and Disaster Management with the consent of the Treasury to all secretaries to ministries, Chief Provincial Secretaries and the Heads of Depts, Finance Ministry said. more..

May 22 (CT) Minister Thalatha Atukorale stated that the intention of the Govt is not to open more prisons, but closing as many that are currently in operation after having rehabilitated inmates. She made this comment while addressing the national event held at Welikada Prison last week granting Presidential pardon to 762 prison inmates to mark the 2019 Vesak Festival; the biggest amnesty granted to inmates in recent history. more..

May 22 (EN) Use of mobile phones to do financial transactions is still low in Sri Lanka, with the island among the lowest in Asia, according to a new survey of mobile phone owners aged 15-65 years. Only five percent of Sri Lankans in that age group used mobile phones to send or receive money, according to the survey, AfterAccess. It studied how individuals in 23 countries of the what’s called the Global South access and use information and communications technologies (ICTs). more..

May 22 (Hindu) External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on May 22 took up terror strikes at Pulwama and Sri Lanka and urged member nations of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) for greater counter-terror cooperation. Addressing the ministerial meet of SCO at Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, the External Affairs Minister said that India remains committed to regional connectivity and peace in Afghanistan. “Our heart goes out to our brothers and sisters of Sri Lanka, more..

May 22 (AFP) President extended on Wednesday by a further month the state of emergency imposed immediately after the Easter Sunday Islamist bombings that killed 258 people. Maithripala Sirisena issued a proclamation saying that the emergency, which gives sweeping powers to security forces to arrest and detain suspects for long periods of time, would continue for another 30 days, citing public security. more..

May 22 (DM) President Maithripala Sirisena has instructed law enforcement agencies not to close roads in a manner which would inconvenience the public when the VIPs were on the move. He had given these instructions to the security forces during the cabinet meeting held yesterday. The President instructed law enforcement agencies to inform this to the security personnel of the VIPs. more..

May 22 (DM) Refuting claims made by Minister Navin Dissanayake, State Minister Niroshan Perera said he had expressed his views on the no-confidence motion against Minister Rishad Bathiudeen with responsibility and that there was no change in his stance on the NCM. He told this in parliament responding to opposition MPs who said that Minister Dissanayake had claimed that State Minister Perera had vowed his support to NCM against Bathiudeen by mistake. more..

May 22 (Island) A feasibility study had not conducted before presenting the Cabinet Paper on Suraksha Insurance scheme, which was introduced to cover schoolchildren, former Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe informed PCoI to investigate corruption of the current administration. Cabinet paper for the Suraksha insurance scheme was jointly presented by PM Ranil Wickremesinghe & Education Minister more..