Jan 13 (DM) Former Western Province Governor Azath Salley has reportedly influenced the police probe into the vandalizing of Buddha statues in Mawanella, as revealed during a four-hour statement given to the CID by a retired top cop on Saturday. CID sleuths who recorded a statement from retired Kegalle DIG Palitha Siriwardena at his Homagama residence on Saturday for over 4.5 hours has surfaced more..

Jan 13 (DM) Dept of Immigration and Emigration flying squad nabbed seven Indian nationals last week, who were employed as labourers at a leading construction site in Wattala defying their visa conditions. Following a tip-off, the department’s investigation wing raided a construction site of an apartment blocks maintained by a leading construction agency in the country from Kerawalapitiya in Wattala. When searched the site the sleuths found seven Indian nationals more..

Jan 13 (AD) An audio recording of another conversation between MP Ranjan Ramanayake and justice Padmini Ranawaka was released to the public. The audio clip was released at a press conference held by retired Major Attorney at Law Ajith Prasanna. Recording contains a conversation between the MP and the judge on the verdict on the case of Sil Cloth distribution campaign against former Secretary to the Prez Lalith Weeratunga and former Dir-Gen of TRC Anusha Palpita. more..

Jan 13 (DM) The six-member presidential select committee (PSC), appointed to nominate Chairmen and directors to state institutions, denied it was supporting nepotism or favouring certain candidates among the 11,000 estimated applications it had received to date. Committee member, Dr. Nalaka Godahewa said that the committee had made recommendations to the posts of Chairmans and directors based on the credentials of more..

Jan 13 (DM) In the early hours of Friday morning, the US, using drone-fired missiles killed Iranian General Soleimani just outside Baghdad’s int'l airport. Soleimani was the second most powerful man in Iran. This was not the first time the US has used assassinations as a means to get rid of leaders whom it felt a threat to Washington’s interests anywhere in the world. We can hardly forget that the US attempted to assassinate Cuban leader Fidel Castro on at least more than 3 dozen times more..

Jan 13 (DM) Just before the dawn of the New Year, two constitutional amendment Bills were presented as private member bills by MP Wijedasa Rajapakshe. These Bills; if enacted, would impact some of the progressive and pro-democratic provisions realised by the 19A in order to strengthen democratic practice and good governance.The 19A was materialized as a promise expressed in the election campaign of presidential election 2015, in which the former Prez severely criticized more..

Jan 13 (DM) The prices of vegetables soared high due to the unprecedented rains across the island during the last season, the All Island Unified Economic Centres and Manning Market Traders Union (AIUECMMTU) said. The Union’s National Organiser H.M. Upasena said the reason for the present vegetable price increase couldn’t be blamed on any person –especially, the govt. “There is a shortage of carrot & leeks in the market” more..

Jan 13 (RN) Postmortems of the three Sri Lankan university students who died in a fire in Azerbaijan last Thursday have been completed. The Sri Lankan mission in Tehran, Iran, have been coordinating the repatriation process of the remains with Azerbaijan authorities, said Delpitiya. The process is now at its final stage, she added. The 3 SL university students who had been studying at Western Caspian Uni in Baku, Azerbaijan, more..

Jan 13 (RN) Sri Lanka Tourism will seek Dutch assistance in redeveloping the Hamilton Canal as a tourist attraction as well as a mode of public transit to ease traffic congestion, a statement said. Also known as the Dutch canal, the 14.9km Hamilton Canal will be redeveloped in collaboration with the Ministry of Fisheries, UDA, Land Reclamation Corporation and Provincial Road Development Authority. more..

Jan 13 (TM) Two rights bodies today claimed that the new govt of Sri Lanka, headed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has unleashed a chilling process of repression targeting critics and human rights defenders. The International Truth and Justice Project – Sri Lanka (ITJP) and Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka (JDS) said intimidation and threats to critics have taken place before and after the presidential elections. more..

Jan 13 (SO) The move to bring in all information of State entities into one data base has been given the thumbs up by IT experts and the country as a whole, as a timely initiative to do away with cumbersome, time-consuming and costly procedures followed in most public establishments which are hurdles to expedite economic growth in the country. All personal information such as National Identity cards, driving licences, more..

Jan 13 (Island) A statement signed by 45 academics, researchers and practitioners condemns the govt’s attempts to remove Director General of the National Archives. Statement was sent on 23 Dec 2019 to the Prez, PM and Secretary to the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Cultural and Religious Affairs. Statement has been signed, among others, by Prof Savitri Goonesekere, Prof Gananath Obeyesekere, Dr Ranjini Obeyesekere, more..

Jan 13 (RN) Sri Lanka could face power cuts by March in the driest month of the year after a coal plant which was about to be built was cancelled under environmentalist pressure and a tender for a 300 Megawatt diesel plants ended up in court. Sri Lanka is moving into the driest months of the year in February and March, amid weather warnings that the tropical island is likely to receive lower than average rainfall in the first quarter. more..

Jan 13 (ST) Two of the country’s major political parties are in a serious crisis with just months to go for the parliamentary elections. Worst hit is the UNP, now in a lockdown over leadership. Party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe ceded the post of Opposition Leader to his deputy, Sajith Premadasa and wants to retain the leadership. Mr Premadasa wants all or nothing. The issue formed the subject of a marathon four-hour discussion at more..

Jan 13 (EN) Sri Lanka is projected to grow 3.3% in 2020 compared to an estimated 2.7% in 2019, while managing a tight budget, the World Bank said. “Sri Lanka’s growth is projected to advance to 3.3% in 2020,” the Global Economic Prospects report said. “The acceleration afterwards will be supported by recovering investment and exports, as long as the security challenges and political uncertainty of 2019 dissipate.” more..

Jan 13 (SO) Govt will take steps to enroll students who left the higher education system due to ragging, back into state-run universities, Minister Bandula Gunawardena said. He will meet relevant officials of the UGC next week to discuss matters relating to the new program. He also plans to call for a report from the Commission to look into the possibility of re-enrolling students who dropped out due to harassment in state-run universities. more..

Jan 13 (FT) Last week, the new Governor of the Central Bank, Prof. W.D. Lakshman, unveiled the CB’s Road Map for 2020 and Beyond before a select audience. Speech delivered by Lakshman can be accessed at here. Though it is commonly known as the Central Bank’s roadmap, it is in effect the roadmap of the Monetary Board which owns the CB. Hence, the blame for its failure or credit for its success should not be passed on to Lakshman or any senior officer of the bank but to more..

Jan 13 (CT) Twelve Colombo Uni students were taken into Police custody and they were remanded for assaulting a fellow student at the Uni canteen in a barbaric manner a few days ago. The attack was even recorded by mobile phones by some other students who were at the canteen when the incident occurred and it went viral highlighting the highly irresponsible behaviour of the students who have entered the prestigious Colombo Uni to reach greater heights in their chosen fields in edu. more..

Jan 13 (SLN) SL Navy rescued 06 fishermen who were distressed at sea, today. A multiday fishing trawler which had left the Kudawella fisheries harbour in Hambanthota, began water leak into its hull due to a collision with a rock and six fishermen onboard were stranded in the sea. On receipt of the information about this accident, under the directives of Naval Headquarters, a naval craft was dispatched for the rescue mission of these fishermen. Accordingly, the distressed trawler more..

Jan 13 (EN) A Bodaragama, a career officer who had served 32 years in the department has been made Commissioner General of Excise, the finance ministry said. He has previously served as acting Commission General. Bodaragama had joined the Department of Excise as an inspector in 1985. Sri Lanka has high rates of excise tax on both cigarettes and alcohol. The high rates has led to smuggling in the case of cigarettes and illegal production and under-reporting in the case of alcohol. more..

Jan 13 (AD) A Chinese national has been arrested at BIA when he attempted to smuggle over 200 live scorpions out of the country. SL Customs said the suspect was arrested at around 1.55 p.m. today at the airport after over 200 scorpions belonging to various species inside his luggage. 30-yr-old Chinese passenger had attempted to smuggle the scorpions in violation of Fauna & Flora Protection Ordinance. more..

Jan 13 (DN) Around 2500 buses will be added to the Sri Lanka Transport Board bus fleet by the end of this year, Passenger Transport Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said. During an inspection tour of the Meetotamulla bus depot, Minister noticed that only 50 buses out of 75 total buses in running condition and only 25 -30 buses run daily due to the shortage of drivers and conductors. The ongoing promotion and transfer procedure has been badly affected for the shortage of drivers and conductors. more..

Jan 13 (RN) Renowned thespian Dr Jayalath Manoratne’s funeral will take place on Wednesday (15) at the Boralesgamuwa public cemetery. The veteran actor, playwright and lecturer passed away on Sunday following a brief illness. He was 71 years of age at the time of death. A recipient of Kalasuri and Kala Keerthi titles, Manoratne was an award-winning artist whose career spanned over five decades. From his debut in the play Aspa Gudung in 1966 onward, he had contributed immensely more..

Jan 13 (AD) The revision application filed by the Attorney General against the order of the Colombo Chief Magistrate granting bail to former minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne, has been fixed for support before the Colombo High Court on January 17. The court also issued notice on MP Rajitha Senaratne, former SPC chairman Rumy Mohomad and the two individuals, who had attended Rajitha’s white van press briefing, to appear before more..

Jan 13 (AD) Eight individuals have been hospitalized over an acid attack in Bulathkohupitiya, Kegalle, stated the Police. Reportedly, the attacks had occurred at around 9 pm last night (11) in the Morontota area in Gurullawala, Bulathkohupitiya. A disagreement between two families had escalated into a clash which had led to the acid attack, according to the Police. Eight males from both parties had suffered injuries from the attack and have been admitted to Kegalle Hospital more..

Jan 13 (DM) Indonesia-bound Jeddah flight belonging to Thai Lion Air made an emergency landing at the BIA this morning due to report on the sudden illness of three Indonesian passengers. The flight landed at the BIA at 2.45 a.m. The passengers were handed over to the Airport police and rushed them to the Negombo hospital for treatment. Two of the passengers (Female 71 and male 64) had died on admission. The 77-year-old male was under treatment. more..

Jan 13 (IE) Former SL Northern Province chief minister CV Wigneswaran Sunday met actor Rajinikanth at his Poes Garden residence in Chennai. According to reports, the two discussed the political situation in the island nation, along with various issues related to SL Tamils. Wigneswaran, who is in Chennai to participate in various events on the sidelines of the Pongal festival, also invited the actor to visit SL soon. more..

Jan 13 (CT) The Colombo Crimes Division (CCD), yesterday (12), recorded a statement, for around three hours, from social media activist Ashen Senaratne, in connection with the circulation of voice recordings of MP Ranjan Ramanayake, which have caused a massive controversy. A senior Police officer at Police Headquarters told Ceylon Today that interrogations have revealed a lot of important information pertaining to the circulation of those voice recordings. more..

Jan 13 (DM) Following a complaint made to the IGP against former PM Ranil Wickremesinghe and UNP MP Ranjan Ramanayake by Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage last Thursday, the Daily Mirror learns that the complaint has been handed over to the CID to begin investigations and the former Prime Minister and UNP MP are to be summoned for a statement soon after the telephone conversation has been verified. Aluthgamage, in his complaint, alleged that his life was under threat since 2015 and more..

Jan 13 (AD) Employment opportunities will be provided for over 50,000 unemployment graduates by 1st of March this year, says Minister Dullas Alahapperuma. Back in 2012, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa took a decision to provide employment opportunities to all graduates. However, the previous govt had appointed a limited number of graduates as development officers under a strict criterion, says the Minister. more..

Jan 13 (AD) Investigations on the recordings of MP Ranjan Ramanayake’s controversial telephone conversations will commence today, says Govt Analyst’s Dept. Its spokesperson said the CDs, computers and other electronic equipment containing the conversations are currently under the custody of the Department. A few days ago, Nugegoda Magistrate’s Court ordered the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) to hand over the relevant electronic equipment to Govt Analyst’s Dept. more..

Jan 13 (FT) Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) has convened an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to get shareholder approval to appoint Nimal Perera who is 75-years-old as the new Director and eventually the Board to elect him as the Chairman. In terms of Section 211 of the Companies Act No. 7 of 2007, his appointment is required to be made by the shareholders declaring that the age limit of 70 years referred to in Section 210 of the said Act, shall not apply to Perera. EGM is scheduled for more..

Jan 13 (RN) GMOA and other groups that were bitterly critical of the previous govt at every turn are suspiciously quiet on the shortcomings of the new administration, UNP said. UNP MP Harshana Rajakaruna said that the GMOA and other unions representing the state sector that would go on strike for every perceived misstep on the part of the UNP-led Yahapalana Govt have not said a word in protest over the Mahapola scholarship issue or more..

Jan 13 (AD) A prison guard, who had been in possession of heroin, has been arrested at milepost 1 on Kalutara-Horana road. The officers of narcotics control unit of Kalutara Police had made the arrest during a raid. According to the police media division, 10g 500mg of heroin were seized from the prison guard. The arrestee is a 51-year-old from Jawatte area and is a prison guard attached to Welikada Prison. He is scheduled to be produced before Kalutara Magistrate’s Court. more..

Jan 13 (FT) Finance Ministry has appointed top professionals and business leaders to the new Board of SriLankan Airlines. Apart from Chairman Ashok Pathirage (Chairman Softlogic Holdings) who was appointed earlier on, new appointed members of the SriLankan Airlines Board of Directors are Brandix Group CEO Ashroff Omar, Dilmah Group Director Malik Fernando, top lawyers Manohara De Silva and Samantha Ratwatte and Sanjaya Mohottala (Boston Consulting Group) more..

Jan 13 (EN) Sri Lanka’s apparel exports grew 2.8% to US$ 459 million from a year earlier in Nov 2019 due to an increase in production capacity and re-routing of supply chains amid the US-China trade war, an industry official said. “Sri Lanka’s apparel exports increased in the November period because most of the SL manufactures expanded their internal production capacity in 2019,” SLAEA Chairman Rehan Lakhany said. more..

Jan 13 (CT) A group of UNP members are secretly planning to support the Govt to obtain a two thirds majority in Parliament, claimed TPA leader, Mano Ganesan. He revealed this while commenting on the leadership crisis in the UNP. Recalling a statement made by MP Navin Dissanayake, that minor political Parties in the United National Front (UNF) and the UNP should contest the forthcoming General Election separately, Ganesan said that if they were to do so, the Govt would win. more..

Jan 13 (CT) UNP MP S.M. Marikkar claimed that the decision taken by the Govt to do away with the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Tax cannot be implemented without being passed through a Bill in Parliament, but the proposal has still not been submitted for Cabinet approval. He added that pertinent proposal to remove the PAYE Tax had not been submitted to the Cabinet yet, even though the Govt had promised to scrap it from 1 Jan this year. "Under a Prez who is always willing to do what he says, more..

Jan 13 (NR) UNP has charged an individual who developed software utilised to issue election results for the 2019 Prez election and a relative of the Chairman of Election Commission have been appointed to the director board of the Information and Communication Technology Agency. MP Ashu Marasinghe said the appointments raise a conflict of interest. MP claimed the present govt has commenced prioritizing relatives once again more..