Feb 14 (ENS) Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Wednesday night foiled an attempt to smuggle 661 kilos of ganja, worth over Rs 1 crore, to Sri Lanka. This is the first major drug trafficking bust of the year in Nagapattinam district. Five persons were arrested, and a truck and two SUVs used to transport the consignment were seized. The ganja was packed in 310 bundles weighing 661.5 kilos and was bought in Andhra Pradesh. Sources in the NCB did not divulge details of how such a more..

Feb 14 (DN) Colombo High Court sentenced three accused yesterday to death for killing a person. In addition, the three accused, Ranga Namal Kumara, Sulochana de Silva and Lakshman Chathuranga were sentenced to 10 years in prison and six months’ rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs. 11,000 each by Colombo High Court Judge Dhammika Ganepola. AG has filed indictment against the five accused in the Colombo High Court under Section 296, 300 and 315 of the Penal Code for more..

Feb 14 (EN) The UNP is seeking permission from the Elections Commission for the alliance led by it to contest the upcoming Parliamentary General elections under the Elephant symbol, former Leader of the House Lakshman Kiriella said. He said that the factions supporting former PM Ranil Wickremesinghe and Sajith Premadasa had met earlier on Friday and agreed on the Elephant symbol for the alliance. more..

Feb 14 (AD) Six suspects including the father of the suicide bomber, who blew himself up at the Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo on Easter Sunday, have been further remanded until February 28 by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court. The six suspects including Mohamed Hayathu Mohamed Ibrahim, who is the father of Shangri-La suicide bomber Mohamed Ilham Ahmed, were produced before Colombo Additional Magistrate Thanuja Jayatunga this morning (14). When the case was taken up, more..

Feb 14 (Island) Jaffna police have arrested four Jaffna undergraduates following a spate of complaints they forced newcomers to perform in sex videos. The police are looking for other students. The police stepped up investigations after the Higher Education Ministry brought the case to the notice of the police headquarters. Jaffna University authorities have so far suspended eight undergraduates and declared the Jaffna University and its Kilinochchi campus out of bounds for senior students. more..

Feb 14 (TM) Sri Lanka has told the United Nations that as a sovereign State it will take its own path to reconciliation. Speaking at the Security Council Open Debate on Peacebuilding and sustaining peace: Transitional justice in conflict and post-conflict situations Kshenuka Senewiratne, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN said that Sri Lanka will continue to establish its own priorities. more..

Feb 14 (MFA) Prez of Republic of Guinia-Bissau, Umaro Cissoko Embalo, accompanied by Ms. Suzi Barbosa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guinea-Bissau who made a brief visit to Sri Lanka this morning en route to Spain called on PM Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees. During the meeting, PM Rajapaksa had a discussion with the visiting Prez on matters pertaining to bilateral and multilateral fora. Two leaders also discussed on improving trade, tourism and investment potential of more..

Feb 14 (AD) Three parcels containing over 3 kg of drugs, suspected to be crystal methamphetamine (also known as ice), have been found floating on the sea to the east off the Trincomalee coast. Police said that the parcels were discovered and picked up by a fishing boat en route to the Kudawella fisheries harbor in Tangalle at around 6.20 a.m. this morning. The parcels were found floating in the sea some 180 nautical miles to the east off the Trinco coast while the fishermen had handed over more..

Feb 14 (CI) Pakistan's emergence from international purgatory is slowly but surely coming to fruition. In recent years the growth of the PSL, and the willingness of its overseas stars to put themselves forward for the knock-out stages in Karachi and Lahore, has helped to accelerate a process that culminated, late last year, in Sri Lanka's arrival for the first Tests on Pakistan soil in more than a decade. more..

Feb 14 (AD) Several bone fragments that were unearthed from a site in Mankulam Hospital have been presumed to be more than 20 years old. The JMO of Kilinochchi Hospital carried out excavations at the site last morning at around am under the orders of Mullaitivu magistrate.These skeletal remains were recovered from the Mankulam Hospital premises during the construction of new ward buildings. A medical officer of the hospital then informed Mankulam Police of the incident more..

Feb 14 (Island) Attorney General Dappula de Livera, yesterday, filed a motion in the Court of Appeal, seeking to vary an earlier court order that no step should be taken by the Sri Lankan authorities, regarding the 256 containers of hospital waste brought here from the UK. Senior Deputy Solicitor General, Milinda Gunetilleke, who appeared for the AG yesterday, said that the UK authorities were not willing to participate in discussions to send back the garbage while a court order was in force. more..

Feb 14 (EN) A World Bank team is currently assessing whether a project funded by the bank is causing harm to the fragile Sinharaja Forest reserve. This follows allegations levelled against the project by environmentalists that a concrete road being built through the reserve was causing harm to the environment and livelihoods. A statement issued by the World Bank’s office in Colombo says more..

Feb 14 (FT) Organisations the world over are under mounting pressure from their wide array of stakeholders, from investors to govts to NGOs and even communities and customers, where it has become imperative that entities are transparent and accountable in all their dealings. As such the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), strengthening its fundamental ethos of rewarding transparency, held its flagship calendar event for the 16th yr in succession on 12 Feb more..

Feb 14 (TM) Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva today said that the cases related to heroin offences have gone up by 64%. Silva said prisons were overflowing with those who have been sentenced for drug related charges. “This is a national problem. We must severely punish those who bring down and distribute drugs throughout the Island,” he said. However, he said for those who have been remanded for a long time for having being in possession of a small quantity of heroin more..

Feb 14 (AD) Former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Russia Udayanga Weeratunga has been remanded until Feb 17 by the Fort Magistrate. The former ambassador, who was arrested by the CID this morning, was produced at the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court, a short while ago. Weeratunga was arrested upon arrival at the BIA early this morning, and was subsequently interrogated by the CID officers. more..

Feb 14 (Island) Neither the Acting IGP Chandana Wickramaratne nor any other senior police officer had instructed him to produce interdicted High Court Judge Gihan Pilapitiya in court, OIC of the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD,) Nevil de Silva told Nugegoda Additional Magistrate, H.U.K. Pelpola, yesterday. Silva said that he had heard Attorney General Dappula de Livera had asked Acting IGP to produce Pilapitiya in court as per his instructions given on Jan 23. more..

Feb 14 (AD) The 33 Sri Lankan students, who were quarantined at the Diyatalawa army camp, arrived at the Sri Lanka Army Headquarters in Akuregoda, a short while ago, to leave for their respective homes later this evening. The group were quarantined at the Diyatalawa army camp’s Base Hospital for a period of two weeks following their evacuation from Wuhan, China. They had departed the quarantine facility at around 10.00 a.m. this morning and are expected to meet with Commander of Army more..

Feb 14 (DM) Fresh efforts have been initiated to prevail upon the UNP leadership to allow the new alliance Samagi Janabalavegaya led by opposition leader Sajith Premadasa to adopt the elephant symbol with MPs Malik Samarawickrama and Mangala Samaraweera talking to party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe in this regard. Parliamentary Elections Act provides for the change of approved symbols of recognised political parties. more..

Feb 14 (Wisden) England’s upcoming tour to Sri Lanka faces the prospect for being England’s first overseas Test series without ball-by-ball radio coverage for 17 years. According to a report in the Daily Mail, talkSPORT, who provided the ball-by-ball coverage for England’s recent four-Test series in South Africa, have passed the opportunity to broadcast the Sri Lanka series, instead opting to channel their resources into longer, more high-profile tours. more..

Feb 14 (Island) 4th Contingent of SL Aviation Unit in UNMISS organized a Community Service Programme at the Children’s Orphanage in Bor, Jonglei, a state in South Sudan. This Community Service Programme was organized under directions of the present Contingent Commander, Group Captain Senaka Kulathunga in commemoration of the 72nd Independence Day of SL. This Children’s Orphanage was initially established in 2015 and at present provides shelter and protection to more..

Feb 14 (PMD) Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa has instructed relevant officials to expedite the completion work of Central & other expressways. The expressway from Matara to Hambantota should be properly completed and open to the public. Construction of segments from Kadawatha to Kurunegala via Mirigama, Kurunegala to Dambulla and Pothuhera to Galagedara of the Central Hiway also needs to be expedited. more..

Feb 15 (CT) Believe Tamil Eelam is in the horizon, will manifest itself and blossom in the new decade due to certain turn of events brought on by the power of meditation. We are on the cusp of a breakthrough, attainable if we put our hearts and minds to it with dedication, consistency, patience and commitment. We have come this far, we have a little more to go to fulfill what has been our long cherished dream and that of our Maveerar – a glorious Tamil Eelam being the unwavering more..

Feb 15 (CT) At times, due to external environmental reasons or entity specific reasons, publicly traded securities face heightened risks. These risks may emerge at an entity or group consolidated level or it may apply to a specific sector or in general to all securities; these risks may arise consequent to specific events or be systemic risks. Some of the risks that Sri Lankan traded securities have already faced/may face in the future, include the following: Fiscal and Monetary Policy related risks more..

Feb 15 (roar) Clownfish flitting about anemones, great schools of blue-and-yellow fusilier fish billowing like underwater clouds as turtles chomp on coral and eagle rays glide gracefully by; the enchantments of Sri Lanka’s oceans are diverse and astonishing. And increasingly, they are being enjoyed by a burgeoning scuba community, with divers descending on reefs and wrecks in many corners of the island. more..

Feb 15 (CT) PM Mahinda Rajapaksa received a State reception in India equal to what was offered to his brother Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa when he visited the country a month ago. Earlier PM Rajapaksa went to New Delhi as Prez. But this time he went to the Indian capital as PM. There was another change also in the travel itinerary of PM Rajapaksa this time instead of going to Tirupathi temple in Andhra Pradesh he went to Varanasi which is the abode of God Siva situated on more..

Feb 15 (CT) At a time when the country is heading towards the General Elections, voters have a sacred duty to elect men of integrity to Parliament. Integrity is not a new concept. It is the quality of being honest and strong about what you believe to be correct. In other words, integrity is how we should live our lives. In life we face choices every day that only we can decide. We should know how to run our lives without allowing extraneous forces to do it. If you make the correct decisions in life, more..

Feb 15 (CT) Former UNP Working Committee member, Imthiaz Bakeer Markar, says he stands for internal democracy in the UNP. "Therefore, I have to face problems. However, I am not shaken by them," he said. Q: Are you frustrated? A: No. I am thrilled. But you were appointed to the Working Committee and removed again. Q: What is happening? A: Yes. It is not that unpleasant. I have been facing this. more..

Feb 15 (ST) Dilip Seneviratne has quite the treasure trove of stories. A musician since the early 80s, he has watched Colombo and its music scene grow through the decades. Quite fittingly then his first solo show is named The Journey but I’m curious to know why it took him so long to do something like this –“I think I was waiting for the right time…it’s about the intention and the journey that I’ve had throughout all these years, playing with so many different bands and being a solo act.” more..

Feb 15 (Island) The ongoing dispute over the UNP symbol, reminds us of the Caucasian Chalk Circle. In Brecht’s play, a child gets yanked by two women, one whom lets go of him because she really loves him. In the unfolding Sirikotha drama, two groups of grown up men are pulling a sick elephant as hard as they can with neither party feeling sorry for it whatsoever; Citizen Perera, like Azdak, will preside over the Sirikotha case, and his verdict will be known soon. more..

Feb 15 (ST) Rukshan Perera Live In Concert 10 goes on the boards at the Bishop’s College Auditorium on Sunday (16) at 7 p.m. This, the evergreen musician’s last concert in this particular series will see guest performances by popular artistes, De Lanerolle Brothers, Clifford Richards, Jananath Warakagoda, as well as the Colombo Brass Ensemble and Choro Calibre. A talented musician, singer, multi- instrumentalist, composer, arranger and performer, more..

Feb 15 (Island) Which is worse, putting profit before safety or backhanders to enhance sales? Politicians may have their own opinions but what should really matter is the opinion of passengers. Squeezed into a giant aluminium tube with hundreds of other passengers, travelling at speeds approaching the speed of sound, at an altitude of around 30,000 to 40,000 feet, flying non-stop for up to almost 19 hours, I am sure many a passenger would consider safety to be of paramount importance. more..

Feb 15 (Island) With the Ranil vs Sajith debate dragging on we are now moving to a battle on symbols. Ranil is not ready to give the elephant symbol to the new Sajith-led alliance. So we are moving to the heart of the matter. Sajith has picked on the heart symbol, and the polls commission has also agreed to it. We will be fast moving to the politics of the heart, or hadavath deshapalanaya. The elephant symbol of green politics more..

Feb 15 (DN) SL lawyer Senaka Weeraratna’s battle for due recognition as the author of the Decision Review System (DRS) to minimize umpiring errors in the middle as far back as 1997, has met with some success with SLC eventually acknowledging his concept. Weeraratna’s suggestion was tabled and minuted at the Executive Committee of SLC this week, thus giving him an impetus to push forward his case which he has been fighting for over 20 years with requests and appeals to SLC/ICC. more..

Feb 15 (ST) An extensive investigation conducted on the contents of a polythene bag led police to the alleged killer of a 48-year-old mother of two in Badulla. The victim, R.A. Gauridevi was found stabbed in a pool of blood on the upper floor of her two storey home. The killer had been seen by two sisters who lived on rent on the ground floor, but had escaped before police arrived. Badulla police deployed seven teams as well as three separate intelligence units for the case. more..

Feb 15 (CT) Sprinter Santhush Weerasinghe made an applaudable return to athletics after an injury-ridden year, to win the Boys' Under-20 200m final at the 20th International School Athletic Championship (ISAC) 2020, with a new meet record at the Sugathadasa Stadium yesterday. Former Benedictine sprinter, now representing Lyceum Int'l School Wattala, clocked 21.80 seconds to win the event where he showcased his return to form more..

Feb 15 (FT) Nearly Rs. 3,830 million will be released through Bank of Ceylon, People’s Bank and Regional Development Bank for the implementation of the Govt’s paddy purchasing program for the Maha season 2019/2020, which has been initiated to provide a reasonable price to paddy farmers for their produce. Cabinet this week agreed to a proposal by PM, who is also Minister of Finance, Economic and Policy Development, to provide funds through the banks for the continuation of this program more..

Feb 15 (PTI) Indian Navy’s Sandhayak-class ship INS Jamuna, which has arrived in Sri Lanka, will carry out detailed hydrographic surveys and several shore-based survey activities over the two-month deployment period, officials said on Thursday. Hydrographic Survey Ship, INS Jamuna (J16), commanded by Captain H A Hardas, arrived in Colombo on Feb 6. The ship has been deployed to SL based on a mutual agreement to carry out a joint hydrographic survey off south-west coast more..

Feb 15 (AI) SL govt must deliver justice, truth and reparation to the families of the forcibly disappeared, Amnesty International said, as the global human rights organization expressed solidarity with the families of the disappeared marching on 14 Feb in Colombo. “The commemoration is a poignant reminder of the painfully long wait of families of forcibly disappeared for answers about their loved ones. more..