Mar 2 (CI) "How do you leave behind the only life you've ever known," Maria Sharapova wondered in her column for Vanity Fair as she called time on her illustrious 28-year career last week. In team sports, that question perhaps rings with even greater poignancy, the act of walking away often requiring walking into an unknown without the security or support of team-mates you have shared best part of your professional more..

Mar 2 (CT) Cabinet approval has been granted to remove the General Managers of Bank of Ceylon (BoC) and People's Bank. Consequently, BoC General Manager Senarath Bandara and People's Bank General Manager Rasitha Gunawardana are to be removed from their positions, and new General Managers will be appointed. It is reported that this decision was taken by the Govt, in a bid to set right arbitrary more..

Mar 2 (AD) The current parliament is set to be dissolved by midnight today, govt sources said. Reportedly, the pertaining Gazette Extraordinary will be published by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at midnight today. Under the 19th Amendment, the Prez has been vested with the power to dissolve the parliament after four and a half years of the sitting of Parliament. The five-year term of the 8th Parliament began on Sept 1, 2015, more..

Mar 2 (AD) The ceremony organized for the launch of the UNP led alliance Samagi Jana Balawegaya has commenced at the Nelum Pokuna Theatre in Colombo. The MoU for the alliance will also be signed by the relevant parties at the event. Reportedly, many representatives of the UNP including the Leader of the alliance and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa have arrived at the premises. more..

Mar 2 (CT) Meteorology Department is indicating that the prevailing heat condition will continue till May this year. The high temperature has even posed a threat to natural resources with fresh water level decreasing in several reservoirs and with rivers becoming depleted and with less water flow in several areas. Mindless destruction of the country's vast forest cover as well as the manmade concrete forests have led to the rise in the temperature level in the country. more..

Mar 2 (EN) State-owned Bank of Ceylon (BoC), SL’s largest lender, posted 10.63 billion rupee profit for the December quarter, up 13.7% a year earlier, helped by tax cuts. Total income for the quarter fell 5.4% to 61.78 billion rupees. Interest income grew at 2% to 56.26 billion rupees due to lending rate caps imposed by the central bank, while interest expenses grew at a faster 5.3% to 37.74 billion rupees, squeezing net interest income, which fell 4.2% to 18.52 billion rupees. more..

Mar 2(DM) The congestion in 30 prisons in the country including Welikada prison has come to a head with more than 26,000 inmates being housed in them where only 10,000 could be detained. The situation has drawn the attention of even Prez Rajapaksa who has instructed to build a new prison in Watareka, Homagama to ease the situation. Commissioner General of Prisons T.M.J.W. Tennakoon said that a 38-acre land in the area has already been allocated for the purpose under more..

Mar 2 (Island) Melstacorp PLC's (AAA(Ika)/Stable) foray into the Sri Lankan healthcare industry will help diversify its cash flow away from its focus on spirits over the longer term, Fitch Ratings says. In its report on Melstacorp , Fitch Ratings further says: "Melstacorp agreed on 20 Feb 2020 to buy Browns Health Care (Pvt) Ltd, which operates a 70-bed multi-speciality hospital in Ragama, in the suburbs of Colombo, for Rs. 1.6 billion. The mostly debt-funded acquisition will not have an immediate impact more..

Mar 2 (AD) Interdicted Judge Gihan Pilapitiya has been issued notices to appear before the Nugegoda Magistrate’s Court. Accordingly, he is to appear before the court on the 2nd of April. The notices have been issued when a case on the controversial phone recordings with MP Ranjan Ramanayake was taken up at the court today. Currently, HC Judge Gihan Pilapitiya has been interdicted by Judicial Service Commission. more..

Mar 2 (FT) As at end-Jan 2020, both price indices that record SL’s consumer price levels have shown a sudden upsurge mainly due to increases in food items, a situation known as foodflation. The Colombo Consumers’ Price Index or CCPI that covers only the consumers in Colombo District accelerated 6.2% by end-Feb compared to the price levels that had prevailed a year ago. While non-food items had recorded an increase of only 2.9%, the food items had increased by 14.7%, more..

Mar 2 (Island) An expert team of five Japan Coast Guard (JCG) officials including two National Strike Team members specialized in combating oil spill incidents and two Mobile Cooperation Team members specialized in capacity development in Japan was dispatched to Sri Lanka from Feb 18 to Feb 27 to conduct technical transfers to their local counterpart officials here on advance oil spill incident management techniques, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) said. more..

Mar 2 (EN) UNP’s headlong rush into oblivion looks like it is well underway after Party Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe boycotted the launch of the UNP-led Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Monday. Led by Sajith Premadasa, the launch attracted most UNP MPs in Parliament as well as the majority of Provincial Council Members as well as Local Govt representatives. more..

Mar 2 (AD) Minister Mahinda Amaraweera laid the foundation stone for a new railway station in Nakulugamuwa on the Matara-Beliatta railway line. Accordingly, project for a new railway station worth Rs 8 million was launched yesterday. Minister instructed the Dept of Railways to complete the construction of the new station by the end of the year. Addressing the event, Minister said, the current govt has understood that strengthening the public transport system will help reduce traffic more..

Mar 2 (AD) The Gazette notification pertaining to the dissolution of the Parliament has been sent to the Govt Printer. Accordingly, the Parliament will be dissolved with effect from midnight today. Reportedly, the General Election will be held on the 25th of April, 2020. Under the 19th Amendment, President has been vested with the power to dissolve the parliament after four and a half years of the sitting of Parliament. The five-year term of the 8th Parliament began on Sept 1, 2015, more..

Mar 2 (PMD) Delivery of appointment letters by post to the qualified candidates under the programme to provide employment opportunities to unemployed graduates has reached its final stage. Those who have completed a degree or an equivalent diploma course recognized by the UGC by 31.12.2019 were eligible to apply. Out of the total of around 70,000 applications received, 56,000 had been duly completed. more..

Mar 2 (EN) Colombo Dockyard Plc, a SL shipbuilding unit of Japan’s Onomichi Dockyard, reported a 90.98 million rupee loss for the December quarter, down from a 433.51 million rupee profit a year earlier due to lower foreign exchange income and scrap sales. The firm reported a loss per share of 1.24 rupees. For the 12 months ended December, Colombo Dockyard lost 23.38 rupees a share. Firm’s share opened at 50.40 rupees on Monday. Revenue for the Dec quarter fell 33.8% to Rs. 3.21 b, more..

Mar 2 (FT) Attorney-at-Law Rajeev Amarasuriya was last week elected as the Secretary of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), securing 84% of the outstation vote and 81% of the Colombo vote with a landslide majority, which is considered to be the highest percentage margin in BASL elections in the recent past. At this election, which was conducted at 84 polling divisions across the country and presided over by the Acting Solicitor General Sanjay Rajaratnam PC, Amarasuriya secured more..

Mar 2 (PMD) The second interim report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry appointed to probe Easter Sunday attacks was handed over to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Presidential Secretariat today. The first interim report was handed over on Dec 20th, 2019. The Commission was appointed by the former Prez Maithripala Sirisena on Sept 22nd, 2019 to investigate series of attacks that took place more..

Mar 2 (TM) Notice has been issued to Minister of Environment and Wildlife Resources S. M. Chandrasena and 24 others to appear before the Appeal Court on the 27th of March. The order was issued when the petition against the govt’s decision to issue 2000 firearms to Civil Defence Force personnel to chase away wild elephants was taken up today. The petition was filed by SL Wildlife Conservation Society. A respective program to provide 2000 firearms arms to Civil Defence more..

Mar 2 (DM) Former President Maithripala Sirisena said on Sunday that he would attack just like eagles do. He said this while participating in the launching of the SL Podujana Nidahas Sandanaya Polonnaruwa election office. “Recently when I was taking a walk, I noticed a cormorant catching a fish and started to eat it on top of a rock nearby. No sooner it started to eat; an eagle which hovered in the sky snatched the fish from the cormorant. We will also attack in a similar manner,” he said. more..

Mar 2 (FT) France is looking to be SL’s new gateway to Europe following Brexit with plans to increase trade, investment and tourism between the two countries, a visiting senior French diplomat said. Under the new strategy of making SL a priority, France will also consolidate relations by opening opportunities for SL on the French-owned La Réunion island located in the Indian Ocean less than 3,000 miles south-west of the country, more..

Mar 2 (CT) 7-member SL crew that is currently being held by the Nigerian authorities is among some 60 other foreigners arrested in connection with a multi-million dollar oil scam operated in international maritime waters, a maritime trade union organisation said. The SL crew was arrested along with the Panama-flagged MT Zeebrugge, while it was enroute to an African port from Casablanca on 12 Dec last year, Int'l Transport Workers' Federation Colombo Inspector, Ranjan Perera, said. more..

Mar 2 (AD) The 22 university students arrested for protesting in violation of a court order have been further remanded until the 16th of March as per an order by the Colombo Magistrate. This was when the group of students was produced before the Colombo Magistrate’s Court this morning (02). Twenty-two university students including 2 monks were remanded for protesting in front of the UGC violating a court order obtained by the Police over acts of obstruction of the public. more..

Mar 2 (DM) The UNP will contest the upcoming general election under the elephant symbol, UNP Assistant Leader MP Ravi Karunanayake said today. He said more than 75% of MPs were with the UNP and that there was no issue with winning the election. "A nominations board will be appointed after the dissolution of Parliament. There are members in the UPFA who will crossover when the election draws closer. more..

Mar 2 (NR) Supreme Court today ordered Former Prez Sirisena to give reasons as to why he should not be named as a respondent in the petition filed against pardoning Galagodaththe Gnanasara thera. The 3-member Supreme Court bench today took up for hearing the petitions filed by Dr. Pakkiyasothi Saravanamuthu of the CPA and the wife of missing journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda, Sandya Eknaligoda. Two Fundamental Rights petitions challenge the release of venerable Gnanasara Thera on more..

Mar 2 (KT) The Sri Lankan Embassy has launched various community outreach programmes, including a 24-hour toll-free helpline number (800119119). The embassy has started a monthly medical camp and counselling sessions, and extended mobile consular service to Ras Al Khaimah. All these programmes are undertaken on Fridays. "On the first Friday of the month, we are in Al Ain to help resolve consular and labour issues, renew passports and attest certificates. more..

Mar 2 (DM) The pilot project to release Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes to the environment was launched today in Nugegoda. Addressing the gathering, NDCU Director Dr. Anura Jayasekera said the Wolbachia bacteria was injected into the bodies of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and released to the environment. Wolbachia, a naturally-occurring bacterium which can stop mosquitoes from transmitting an infection to humans, more..

Mar 3 (CT) Sri Lanka has been in many crossroads and given many opportunities to resolve its outstanding problems where the shattered unity among its diverse population, endemic corruption in almost all sectors, breaching of the rule of law with gay abandon and impunity are top of the list. Every opportunity has been squandered on the altar of unprincipled electoral politics. We are once again at the crossroads and this may well be the last opportunity before things unravel to more..

Mar 3 (CT) COVID-19 has already reported to have killed more than 2000 lives, more in China, but its tentacles have gone way beyond its borders. With its potent mix of characteristics, this virus is unlike most that capture popular attention: It is deadly, but not too deadly. It makes people sick, but not in predictable, uniquely identifiable ways. Most countries are heightening their vigilance because of the apparent spread of the virus in countries outside of mainland China. more..

Mar 3 (CT) The controversial Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCOI) on political victimization has aided and abetted efforts by the Directorate of Military Intelligence to obtain copies of files on highly sensitive investigations conducted by the CID, authoritative sources told Colombo Telegraph. The PCOI last week issued an order that files pertaining to cases before the Commission should be obtained from law enforcement agencies for perusal. more..

Mar 3 (ST) Whoever coined this blurb would hardly have expected it to be put to more meaningful use than promoting something called tourism. Since somebody first strung these words together, this land like no other has turned even more like a land like no other and no land will ever be so. That is, of course, if climate change is not hastened by political mediocrities who wish to turn land earmarked for mangroves into playgrounds or some clueless wonders pretending to be the last words more..

Mar 3 (CT) In New Delhi recently on his maiden overseas trip in office, this time as PM, incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa disclosed that he had sought Indian indulgence for granting a three-year moratorium on SL's pending payments. This, he further said, would help the Govt to approach other creditors to do so. In particular, he named China, which the whole world knows is the Nation's single largest creditor. The reasons for PM Rajapaksa talking about the Nation's debt and more..

Mar 3 (Roar) Death is a fact of life. It transcends cultures and borders and is a universal human experience. However, rites and rituals concerning death vary; in a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural country such as ours, rituals and rites surrounding funerals reflect the hopes, values and dreams of the community. At a granular level, more differences are visible, although, as sociology senior lecturer at Open University, Dr Harini more..

Mar 3 (ST) Prez Rajapaksa has pledged he would make the country safe, secure and attractive for foreign investment. This is indeed crucial for the country’s rapid economic growth. Govt must pursue policies that would make the country attractive to investors to achieve this objective. Govt hopes to attract foreign direct investments of US$ 2.5 billion. While the achievement of this target is crucial for a higher trajectory of economic growth, increasing FDI is a challenging task in current global context. more..

Mar 3 (Island) Coca-Cola was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1886, exactly 19 years after James Taylor planted tea in Loolecondura estate, Deltota in the Kandy district. Today it is the world’s most famous and largest beverage company, valued at US$ 150 b (GDP of SL is around US$ 90 b). On the other hand, the tea yields of Loolecondure estate, after 152 years in production, have drastically dropped below 600 kilos per hectare whereas the National average yield is over 1,500 kilos more..

Mar 3 (CT) The end of the 30-year war gave way to expectations and hopes to materialise with the thought that the future of the country will turn to getting better as the ground situation was so dismal there was no way other than upwards. The end signified expectations on peace and reconciliation and opportunities to ensure harmony, it did not however, dawn overnight. Most did their best to break the peace and some others worked overtime to bring about disunity/distrust among people. more..

Mar 3 (Island) A recent media report quoted Minister of Power, Energy as having said that "the Cabinet had given conditional approval to begin construction for the much delayed 300 MW Kerawalapitiya LNG power plant to Lakdhanavi Ltd. to start construction immediately after settling the litigation case. Report further said that "The delay in the construction of the Kerawalapitiya LNG power plant has created a power crisis. Our aim is to start construction in March and commission the plant in 2023. more..

Mar 3 (Island) PUCSL (Public Utilities Commission) and energy experts alleged that CEB has not taken tangible measures to use available electricity generators to meet the shortfall in power supply. State sector had the resources to produce 500MW and the private sector 100 MW, sources said. CEB had ignored this option and sought costly power purchasing agreements with the private sector at the expense of national economy, more..