Jun 16 (CT) Ragama Police arrested an individual who had managed to escape during the chaotic events of the devastating 2004 tsunami. The 54-year-old fugitive, previously identified as an inmate of the Negombo Prison, was arrested in Ragama on Wednesday. He was scheduled to appear before the Welisara Magistrate yesterday. The suspect and his brother were initially arrested in 2001 in connection with a murder in Ragama. Following their arrest, both siblings were remanded in custody. more..

Jun 16 (Island) Foreign Ministry is planning to move a resolution in Parliament against Canada’s claim of genocide here. A senior FM spokesperson said that the modality of a resolution would be considered, in consultation with Prez Wickremesinghe and the Cabinet of Ministers. Official said so in response to a query whether Foreign Minister Ali Sabry would take appropriate measures to move a resolution as suggested more..

Jun 16 (DM) The maintenance costs of existing blood bank refrigerators at the National Blood Transfusion Service are very high, and they are more than 15 years old, Dr. Lakshman Edirisinghe said. He said that the National Blood Transfusion Services has sufficient storage capacity to meet the demand. We use blood refrigerators, plasma freezers and platelet agitators as the blood cold chain equipment used for the storage of blood components. more..

Jun 16 (TM) 10 year old Elisha Samuel with the help of her mother Dr Manouri Samarakoon, has initiated a fund raiser art exhibition at the Lionel Wendt theatre on the 17th and 18th of June, to raise funds for the Lady Ridgeway hospital ICU in Colombo. Samarakoon said that Elisha was severely sick with covid 19 and dengue simultaneously, and the LRH staff and doctors battled for her life. "Today, Elisha is 10 years old and is happy and healthy, thanks to the efforts made by more..

Jun 16 (AD) Upon completion of its facility expansion, the Kankesanturai Harbour was declared open today, making way for a passenger ferry service between India and SL. The opening ceremony was held under the patronage of Ministers Nimal Siripala de Silva, Douglas Devananda and with the attendance of Commander Northern Naval Area, Rear Admiral Aruna Tennekoon. Following the directives of the Commander of the Navy, more..

June 16 (AD) The Ministry of Trade, Commerce and Food Security has denied allegations made by the trade unions of the Cooperative Wholesale Establishment (CWE) that subject Minister Nalin Fernando is planning to close down the CWE. A Ministry source stated that the Ministry has no such plans and that no discussion has been held in this regard. She also said that the Ministry denied the false allegations made by the trade unions affiliated with the CWE. more..

Jun 16 (AD) Second Reading of the Anti-Corruption Bill is scheduled to be taken up in Parliament on 21 June, as per a decision made by the Committee on Parliamentary Business. Meanwhile, the Bill on the Parliamentary Budget Office is due to be debated on Tuesday (20), as the Parliament is due to meet from 20 June until 23 June, Secretary General of the Parliament Kushani Rohanadeera said. Accordingly, from 9.30 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. on 20 June, time is allotted for Questions for Oral Answers, more..

June 16 (CT) The attention of the Govt has been drawn to introduce suitable clothing for schoolchildren that cover their limbs to curb the alarming spread of dengue fever among schoolchildren. This recommendation was brought at the Western Province sub-committee, responsible for curbing the dengue outbreak chaired by State Minister Dr. Seetha Arambepola, who is the Chairperson of the Dengue Control Expert Committee. more..

June 16 (DN) Sri Lanka should focus and invest more in generating cheap energy from wind power from the ocean, said Deputy Director China - Sri Lanka Joint Center for Education & Research (CSL-CER) Jinglong Yao. He said that China is successfully extracting cheap energy from wind power in the China seas. “After making the initial investment to generate power from the alternative power sources, the generation cost will be one of the cheapest in the world.” more..

June 16 (EN) SL’s women who are kept out of formal employment by childcare, housework, and social attitudes against working outside the home, are also paying the biggest price amid job losses triggered by a currency crisis, a survey has found. 54.7% women respondents said they could not get a as there was no one to take care of children, another 11.9% said there was no one to take care of parent. more..

June 16 (CT) Jaffna District Govt Agent A. Sivapalasundaram, at a meeting with newly appointed Jaffna District Military Commander, Major General Sujeeva Hettiarachchi, emphasised the cooperation of the Army in preventing various illegal activities and conflicts in the Jaffna District. The meeting took place on 14 June and the GA told the Media after the meeting that he highlighted the necessity of security cooperation to effectively control illegal activities in the region. more..

June 16 (DM) Two British actors-Bill Hurst and Paul Costa- are playing the roles of Darrell Hair and Ross Emerson, according to MS Sripathy, the writer and director of Murali 800 biopic. He said, in the biopic we are not revealing the Australian umpires (Hair and Emerson) names. This is to avoid any legal hassles". These two actors may not be big names but Bill Hurst is known for The Golden Compass (2007), The Lost City of Z (2016) and The Wind that Shakes the Barley (2006). more..

Jun 16 (Island) ASEAN recently hinted at the possibility of Sri Lanka joining the world’s largest trade deal, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, which is set to give its signatories including Indonesia even more benefits. ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn met with the SL presidential secretariat, led by the prez’s senior economic adviser Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunga, in Jakarta. more..

June 16 (AD) A Gazette Extraordinary has been published to announce the closure of liquidation of two state departments. The communiqué was issued by the Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilization & National Policies on Tuesday (13). Thereby, the govt has confirmed the closure of liquidation of Internal Trade Dept and Dept of Telecommunications. The Internal Trade Dept was established under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act (No. 01 of 1979), which was repealed by more..

June 16 (DM) Two individuals were killed and another seriously injured when a Navy staff bus collided head-on with a lorry at Malida on the Giridara-Delgoda road this morning. They said one person was killed on the spot while two other persons were admitted to the Dompe Hospital where one person was pronounced dead. The other person was transferred to the Ragama Hospital with critical injuries. The deceased aged 39 and 46 were identified as residents of Haputhale, Delgoda more..

Jun 17 (DM) Way back in 2015 the World Bank presented an agenda to permanently end world poverty and hunger by 2030, raise real incomes of the poorest people; provide safe food and adequate nutrition; that can better steward the world’s natural resources. Seven years later, after world leaders committed to end hunger by 2030, the crisis is unfortunately heading in the wrong direction. The UN reports that 150 million more people are affected by hunger since the start of the global pandemic. more..

Jun 17 (FT) We speak of inflection points, and turning points, and 16 March, 2020 looms large as an example, the infamous 15 days to flatten the curve. Of course, authoritarian preening and presumption predates that. But the magnitude of this sledgehammer was somewhat unprecedented. All over the world, and here at home, rights were suddenly broadly throttled. I remember running into a diplomat here, who ashen, told me he had to evacuate 50,000 expatriates immediately! more..

Jun 17 (TM) Reports show that the number of illegal weapons in the country has increased recently, which authorities believe has been caused due to the illegal narcotics trade, and plan on increasing operations to address the problem. Public Security Minister Tiran Alles said that the Special Task Force alone had seized 1,163 illegal firearms in the past three years, including revolvers, pistols, and T-56 and T-81 firearms. more..

Jun 17 (GV) One of the few govt officials who knows what she’s doing, Dr Nadeera Rupesinghe, remains a cut above the rest. Deeply committed to her work, she epitomises in every way the enormity of the work required of her. History has yet to prove that she was in the right place at the right time but I think she is. The fact of the matter is that during her tenure, the SL National Archives, the de facto repository of archives in the country, has embarked on probably the most ambitious more..

Jun 17 (CT) The resignation of Professor Anura Manatunga, Director General of Department of Archaeology, apparently after a heated controversy with President Ranil Wickremesinghe (RW) who rejected the Professor’s request for an unusually extensive area of land for excavation in Mullaitivu, is bound to anger the saffron army of political bhikkhus who are 21st century’s Sri Lankan crusaders against ethnic reconciliation and religious harmony. This army, which has a sordid history more..

Jun 17 (TM) Studies have found that approximately one-fifth of the population of SL (19.4%) has been detected with depression. Among this, highest prevalence is reported among young persons (39%). Among adults, older persons, and maternal populations, the prevalence is 8.7%, 18.4%, and 16.9%, respectively. Many of the studies reported several factors associated with depression, including individual attributes & behaviours, more..

Jun 17 (DM) Former Prez Chandrika Kumaratunga recently raised a pertinent question on Twitter about BBS General Secretary Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera and others of his ilk. She asked in her tweet why no action had ever been taken against Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera and others, who had insulted other religions practised in the country. Kumaratunga said their words spreading hate against Muslim and Tamil citizens of SL were far more vicious than those uttered by more..

Jun 17 (CT) Sri Lanka was severely battered by the Covid-19 pandemic and its implications can be seen to date. The main highlight of the pandemic was the importance of taking precautions to avoid health crises. With the gradual increase in the number of Covid-19 and dengue cases coupled with an increase in the number of malaria cases, the question as to whether we are taking sufficient precautionary measures persists. As reported, there are some serious concerns as to whether more..

Jun 17 (Island) A health sector strike is something the public needs like a hole in the head, especially at this juncture. Most people are struggling to keep the wolf from the door, and a square meal is a luxury for them. Needless to say, they cannot afford treatment at private medical institutions. Even those who used to bear out-of-pocket healthcare expenses for the sake of convenience have come to be dependent on state-run hospitals owing to the economic crisis. But the govt does not more..

Jun 17 (DM) With the number of repressive actions that the govt has taken in recent months, especially after the last year’s public uprising which was commonly called the Aragalaya, one can imagine the anxiety that has been tormenting some of the leaders of the govt over public dissent. The repressive process began soon after the crackdown on Aragalaya in July last year. Prez Wickremesinghe issued a gazette notification on Sept 23 last year declaring 8 HSZs in Colombo & its suburbs. more..

Jun 17 (Island) There hadn’t been a previous instance of a President having to publicly challenge a report put out by a Sectoral Oversight Committee or any other watchdog committee. Several hours after the Sectoral Oversight Committee (SOC) on National Security tabled a report on ‘The effects of the privatization of Sri Lanka Telecom on National Security’ in Parliament on Friday President’s Media Division (PMD) more..

Jun 17 (FT) Ceylon Motor Traders Association (CMTA) has taken a proactive stance to address recent rumours surrounding the reinstatement of vehicle imports, whilst submitting a detailed proposal to the authorities aiming to promote economic growth, meet the transportation needs of the public and secure Govt revenue. The proposal, divided into two key parts, first part emphasises a gradual and staggered approach to lifting the suspension on vehicle imports. more..

Jun 17 (ST) Education Ministry has sent proposals to funding agencies to provide monetary support to a UNESCO-recognised institution here to avoid losing that recognition, Minister Susil Premajayantha said. Earlier, The Sunday Times revealed that South Asian Centre for Teacher Development (SACTD) established in Meepe nine years ago was at risk of losing UNESCO) recognition. SACTD located in Meepe was established in 2014 as a category II centre under the auspices of UNESCO with more..

Jun 17 (Island) Sprinter Kalinga Kumarage ran a superb outer lane 400 metres to clinch the gold medal at the National Inter State Athletics Championships at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, India on Friday.Kumarage, who was yet to clock sub 46 seconds this season, returned a new personal best time of 45.64 seconds to produce his personal best in the final. Kumarage had a personal best of 45.70 seconds from 2022 but was yet to clock sub 46 seconds this year. more..

Jun 17 (ST) SL Institute of Nanotechnology (SLINTEC) has just received request from large corporates in the country to develop products and processes. Thushara Perera, Director SLINTEC told the Business Times that this happened after the Analytical Hub, was held as an event to showcase the capabilities of the institution’s analytical services to meet challenges of the future. “We had close to 100 industry representatives from corporates participating at this event, more..

Jun 17 (FT) SL’s tea crop has begun to see a marginal improvement in volumes as a result of favourable weather conditions and availability of fertiliser. In May, tea production increased by 1.58% year-on-year to 26.52 million kilos, but the first five months’ crop dipped by 1.54% compared to 2022 reflecting the struggle for revival after detrimental policy changes. In May, High Growns have shown a marginal increase, more..

Jun 17 (DN) SL junior Netball team lost to Malaysia 36-77 in their semi final of the Asian Junior Netball Championship played in South Korea yesterday. The defending champions Malaysia controlled the game with speedy passes and strong defence which paved the way to get an easy victory over SL. In the first quarter Malaysian got an early lead 16-6 and they maintained their lead to finish the second quarter 37-14. In the third quarter Malaysian used their experience to score more points and more..

Jun 17 (FT) As the 10th annual CFA Society Sri Lanka Capital Market Awards scheduled for 21 June draws closer, the Society takes the opportunity to revisit the award winners from last year, as part of its efforts to recognise and reward professionals who have established benchmarks for the advancement of domestic capital market participants. The Best Unit Trust Fund Award is one of the five major accolades presented at the CFA Society Sri Lanka Capital Market Awards. more..

Jun 17 (ST) K.N. Deen and his family are still in shock after a break-in at their home while they slept in their residence on Schofield Place, Colombo 3, despite a burglar alarm. They lost valuables including expensive watches, a diamond studded ring, and cash left in an almirah. A week has passed and the Kollupitiya police are still looking for the suspect. “The burglar alarm at the back door was triggered at about 5:45 a.m. and by the time more..

Jun 17 (PMD) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe emphasized the importance of English education and infrastructure development in the next five years. He expressed his commitment to promoting English as a national language and ensuring that teachers and necessary resources are provided for its effective teaching. Prez also highlighted that the opportunity should also be given to learn languages such as Chinese, Japanese, Hindi, and Arabic and should not be limited to English alone. more..

Jun 17 (DM) The govt is yet to confirm whether it will forge ahead with the proposal by Russia to invest in a nuclear power plant. Russian nuclear giant Rosatom has offered to build a nuclear power plant that may run two reactors and generate 300 megawatts of energy. Russia has made similar investments in countries such as India and Bangladesh. Earlier, SL Ambassador in Russia Prof. Janita Liyanage said that she, during a meeting with the representatives of Rosatom, said that more..