Mar 5 (AD) It has been noted that incorrect messages are circulating in the social media relating to the security of Automated Teller Machines (ATM) of banks, states LankaClear, operator of LankaPay. While asserting that the common ATM network adheres to the highest security standards, LankaClear says that all banks have informed them that the ATM network of Sri Lanka is not compromised in any way and safe to use. Meanwhile, Computer Society of SL more..

Mar 5 (Island) President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, last January, told the then Chairman of COPE JVP lawmaker Sunil Handunetti that it was the responsibility of the Central Bank to take action against those responsible for Treasury bond scams. JVPer Handunetti said that President Rajapaksa said so in a letter sent to him in response to his request for presidential intervention in the Treasury bond scams investigation. more..

Mar 5 (DM) Several UNP members including party deputy leader Sajith Premadasa boycotted its Working Committee meeting held yesterday. Sajith loyalist and former MP Harin Fernando said they decided to boycott the meeting to see what the Working Committee would do. “We sent former MP Malik Samarawickrama to the Working Committee meeting to inform our stance,” he said. Mr. Samarawickrama was seen leaving the UNP headquarters early. more..

Mar 5 (DM) Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) yesterday announced the appointment of its nomination board. The board comprised politicians and lawyers. Commenting on this, former MP Harin Fernando said, the politicians included Mangala Samaraweera, Kabir Hashim, Lakshman Kiriella, Malik Samarawickrama, Ravindra Samaraweera and Thalatha Athukorala. “The inclusion of Kabir Hashim is a notable feature as he was in the nomination board member list of the UNP. more..

Mar 5 (EN) The nomination board of the Sajith Premadasa-led Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) met yesterday and claimed that it had finalized two-thirds of its candidates for the upcoming Parliamentary General elections. Imtiaz Bakeer Markar, a member of the Board said that they were confident that all the nominations would be ready for the March 12 deadline. On the Board are UNP heavyweights Kabir Hashim, more..

Mar 5 (DM) After years of huffing and puffing by the then joint opposition -- against the UNHRC Resolution 30/1 since its adoption on Oct 1, 2015 -- now in govt in its current format as the SLPP had got the opportunity to urge President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to withdraw from the process of co-sponsorship of the Resolution. What follows are some excerpts from the speech made by SL’s Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena formally announcing withdrawal from Resolution 30/1: more..

Mar 5 (DM) There are rooms, there are discussions and there are elephants in certain rooms whose existence is denied. Sometimes people do say hey, there’s an elephant here, we can’t ignore it. Once that’s said, you can’t ignore it or wish it away. You have to talk about the elephant. A good example is what has been happening at the UNHRC in Geneva. There are many elephants in this case. There’s the world’s most ruthless terrorist outfit, the LTTE. There’s the fact that the LTTE held more..

Mar 5 (FT) The estate sector wage hike remains stuck in a stalemate, with plantation companies awaiting a decision from the Govt and trade unions. “We have not heard a decision from the Govt yet although we have submitted three alternatives,” Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) told the Daily FT. RPCs proposed three models, including out-grower, productivity-based incentives and revenue sharing. more..

Mar 5 (FT) Major stakeholders of the apparel industry will meet today for a crucial discussion to find ways to counter the double impact of the coronavirus outbreak, as the sector struggles with both disrupted supply chains and slower demand in key export markets with initial estimates indicating the impact could reach as much as $ 500 million. Early stages of data collection indicate an impact of $ 200m to $ 500m more..

Mar 5 (DM) Being a tropical country Sri Lanka’s climatic conditions are decided by two Monsoon seasons, which bring rain to the west and south-west coasts from May to September; and the east coast and northern region between October and February. The rest of the year is sunny and dry. Temperatures are fairly constant year-round, with coastal regions enjoying average temperatures of 25-30°C and highlands 15-18°C on average. more..

Mar 5 (ST) There will be more than 270,000 new voters at the parliamentary election to be held on April 25 compared to the prez election in November last year. There would be 16,263,885 eligible voters for the parliamentary elections compared to the 15,992,096 voters in the last prez election. The increase is 271,789 voters. As for new voters the highest numbers are from the Colombo and Gampaha electoral districts more..

Mar 5 (ST) The prevailing dry weather is aiding forest fires to spread as the arid atmosphere has dried most plant matter. Fire fighters are on standby to put out forest fires and save reserves from being burned down. A forest fire was averted by the Puttalam fire brigade as they controlled the fire which erupted on a private land bordering the forest on Friday. Puttalam Mayor K A Bhais said that a fire erupted on a pvt land more..

Mar 5 (AD) Licenses are issued for private broadcasting stations in terms of the provisions of SLBC Act No. 37 of 1966 and SLRC Act No. 6 of 1982 for maintaining broadcasting and telecasting licenses. Accordingly, 27 private broadcasting licenses and 54 private television licenses have been issued thus far whereas only 18 broadcasting licenses and 28 telecasting licenses are in operation. more..

Mar 5 (FT) A passenger boat service between Wellawatte and Battaramulla will be launched on 11 March as a public service and allows passengers to travel between the two locations in 30 minutes. The scenic route follows Colombo’s canals, starting from Diyatha Uyana, going past Nawala and Kirulapone, and ending near Savoy Cinema in Wellawatte. Boat ride will go both ways, with a boat leaving every 30 minutes, more..

Mar 5 (AD) The govt will discuss with the Election Commission on the decision to suspend the training of graduates who are selected for public service, says Minister Bandula Gunawardena. He pointed out that, as of March 01, the govt had selected a total of 45,585 graduates to be absorbed into public service as trainees. He noted that, during the prez election campaign last year, Gotabaya Rajapaksa had promised more..

Mar 5 (DM) Former Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris, former CB Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal and President's Counsel Ali Sabry will enter Parliament through the National List under the ticket of the SLPP, govt sources said. Sources said SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam and MP Wimal Weerawansa had also been nominated by the SLPP. SLPP Chairman G.L. Peiris has held a political career since the early ’90s but lost more..

Mar 5 (SLN) The haul of heroin and crystal methamphetamine, commonly known as Ice, worth approximately Rs. 6,000 million along with the suspects and fishing vessels in connection to it, seized after a successful naval operation in high seas about 600 nautical miles (1111km) away from Sri Lankan shores, were escorted to Dikovita fisheries harbour this morning. Based on intelligence information received more..

Mar 5 (CT) While all eyes are on the forthcoming General Election around 25 April, even radically anti-UNP voters have begun to raise the question of the quarrel between Ranil Wickremesinghe and Sajith Premadasa for absolute control of the United National Party. As a mere tonic for something valuable to consider in the passing political essence of the country, Ranil Wickremesinghe's 25 years of utter failure have become major news items in newspapers and on websites. more..

Mar 5 (FT) We are indebted to Robert Knox for recording his observations of 17th century SL, the land in which he spent nearly 20 years, a guest of the Kandyan king, willy-nilly. By the time he marooned himself here, the island had been exposed to European influences in various forms, mainly Portuguese and Dutch colonisers, for more than two centuries (For perspective, it is only 70 years since independence, and so much has changed in the country, in these 7 decades. more..

Mar 5 (DM) The prevailing hot weather condition, which was forecast to disappear by mid-March with the onset of the Inter monsoonal rain, would last until mid-April, Director General of Dept of Meteorology said. He said according to their analysis, no positive sings in terms of rains from the Bay of Bengal had been observed as yet. “Thus, it will take more than a month to experience considerable spells of shower that will bring changes to the prevailing hot weather condition,” more..

Mar 5 (AD) Minister Prasanna Ranatunga asks the public not to vote for anyone even connected to former Prez Maithripala Sirisena. Addressing a public meeting in Mahara, he said that it is the duty of the people to elect those who know how to be grateful to the parliament. Ranatunga says he will be blasted at the party leaders’ meeting when his statement is broadcasted through media. However, he does not care because he knows that people in Gampaha will protect him, Minister added. more..

Mar 5 (Island) Samagi Jana Balawegaya’ alliance led by Sajith Premadasa will pose a tough challenge to the ruling party, SLMC Leader and former MP Rauff Hakeem said on Monday. Speaking to the media in Chennai SLMC leader Hakeem said: "We will continue to support the former Prez candidate Sajith Premadasa at the forthcoming Parliamentary elections. This alliance is bound to pose a formidable challenge for the ruling govt." more..

Mar 5 (DM) India has granted citizenship to nearly 19,000 people from five neighbouring countries including 113 Sri Lankan citizens, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday. Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said those who were granted Indian citizenship belonged to Bangladesh, Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan. Among the 18,999 people who were granted Indian citizenship, a total of 15,036 were from Bangladesh, he said in a written reply. more..

Mar 5 (AD) The govt has decided to accelerate the implementation of National Programme for the Alleviation of Poverty for ensuring the food security through providing essential food rational for the poverty-stricken population. During the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers held yesterday (04), the Internal Trade, Food Security and Consumer Welfare Minister has drawn the attention of fellow members to several measures that are to be carried out through this programme. more..

Mar 5 (EN) Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa says he wants his party to get a two-thirds majority in Parliament to make changes in the Constitution but not necessarily revert to the 18th Amendment which did away with term limits to the Presidency. “I have no objection to term limits, in fact, I think I need only one-term to fulfil my intentions,” he told reporters. He is opposed to the independent commissions he said, because more..

Mar 5 (AD) Emergency purchase of power will be extended by another 6 months owing to the prevailing dry climate, stated the Minister Mahinda Amaraweera. The relevant proposal was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers at its meeting, Minister said. Cabinet had previously authorized the purchase of power under emergency power purchase for a period of 6 months. However, as hydropower generation has come down to 20% due to the prevailing drought, power purchase more..

Mar 5 (Island) The Court of Appeal, yesterday, fixed for May 4, the mention of the Writ of Mandamus application filed by the Centre for Environmental Justice complaining against the importation of 256 garbage containers form the UK. The containers, the petitioner has said, has hospital waste, which could pollute local soil and the underground waster. The Court directed the Central Environmental Authority to discuss the matter with the importers and report the outcome on 04 May. more..

Mar 5 (WION) This is an era which is witnessing the end of western dominance, Former Sri Lankan Prime Minister and Chief Guest of WION Global Summit, Ranil Wickremesinghe said in his keynote address on Thursday. SL leader began his address by lauding India's first international news channel WION as he said, it "is a pioneer in creating a global platform to present the geopolitical analysis of recent South Asian trends". more..

Mar 5 (CI) Such is the power in West Indies' batting, that on Wednesday, Dwayne Bravo could have come in as low as No. 9. He didn't, because he was unrequired. Without Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell and Bravo facing a single ball, West Indies still muscled their way to an imposing 196. Sri Lanka never quite looked like they were going to get there. How do SL turn this around, with only one day in between games? As has been the case all through the past 18 months, they rely heavily on more..

Mar 5 (AD) The Cabinet of Ministers has granted its approval to appoint a committee to formulate a National Fertilizer Policy. Necessary provisions have been formulated for import, production, preparation, and distribution of fertilizer by the act to formalize the Fertilizer Act No 68 of 1988. The aforementioned act has not been revised up until now and it has been a notable obstacle for the advancement of the sector over the lack of a formal national fertilizer policy. more..

Mar 5 (EN) A govt-backed misinformation campaign on social media has falsely accused him of involvement in suspending a controversial graduate employment programme, former opposition leader Sajith Premadasa said. Social media posts were alleging that he had written to the Election Commission (EC) to have the recruitment programme suspended were going viral online, he complained. more..

Mar 5 (EN) Sri Lanka will set up a holding company owned by the Treasury, Bank of Ceylon and SL Insurance Corporation to control three state-run hotels, the state information office said. Hotel Developers Pvt Ltd, a listed company that was expropriated in 2011, which houses Colombo Hilton; Canwill Holdings, which controls a half built building where a Grand Hyatt is supposed to come up and Grand Oriental Hotel, which is currently owned by the Bank of Ceylon will be included. more..

Mar 5 (CT) The Organisation to Protect Public Rights (OPPR) yesterday (4) gave a three-day ultimatum to the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) to find the culprit responsible for the child abuse video that recently went viral on social media and to take immediate action on him. "Officials are trying to cover up this incident since this is a disgrace and a mistake from their part. In spite of this, the NCPA is yet to take any action in order to find the culprit. more..

Mar 5 (EN) Prez Rajapaksa does not agree with the order given by the Elections Commission to refrain from handing over letters of appointment to graduate recruits which have been posted on March 1 and 2. “We don’t understand why this order has been given,” Prez Rajapaksa told reporters. “The appointments have already been made and we have called them in for training,” Prez said. He added that “all training in the Public Service more..

Mar 5 (AD) Cabinet of Ministers has granted its approval to launch an accelerated programme for the provision of 150,000 new domestic water supply connections during the first two quarters of the year. This decision was taken at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers held this week. The proposal for the programme has been tabled by PM Mahinda Rajapaksa, as the Minister of Urban, Water Supply and Housing Facilities. Water Supply and Drainage Board has already supplied supply water more..

Mar 5 (AD) Attorney General has been ordered by the Supreme Court to produce an extensive report on the compensation of farmers whose crops were damaged due to the Uma Oya project. A Fundamental Rights petition filed by the affected farmers was taken up before the Supreme Court Justices Priyantha Jayawardena, Preethi Padman Surasena and Yasantha Kodagoda, today. Speaking on behalf of the Attorney General, Deputy Solicitor General of Govt Parinda Ranasinghe told more..

Mar 5 (AD) A new Guinness World Record has been achieved for the most alternative endings for a book by SL children and veteran author and illustrator Sybil Wettasinghe. Wonder Crystal is the only children’s book in the world with 1,250 completed alternative endings and it is written by children of Sri Lanka. In October last year, Munchee, the flagship brand of Ceylon Biscuit Ltd celebrated World Children’s Day 2019 more..

Mar 5 (FT) In an effort to impact the SL design industry to be more sustainable, Colombo Fashion Week (CFW) recently introduced its Responsibility in Fashion program which is to focus on three circularity-based initiatives that would attempt to save garments from ending up in a landfill. The three actionable impacts that the responsible program focuses on are the Garment Enhancement Guarantee, Garment Disposal Plan and Return-After-Use-for-Repurpose initiatives more..

Mar 5 (wsws) Prominent Sri Lankan journalist Gihan de Chickera and Sajith Bandara, a young cartoonist, issued statements to the WSWS this week defending imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and endorsing the int'l campaign for his freedom. They have condemned the attempt to dispatch Assange from Britain to US, where he faces the prospect of 175 years imprisonment under the draconian Espionage Act. Their statements were made days after the first week of more..