Mar 5 (SO) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe got it right when he said at a function in Trincomalee that Govts cannot be changed by street agitations. That, he said, can only be done through the ballot. President Wickremesinghe, during a speech in Parliament on an earlier occasion, also categorically said that he would not permit another Aragalaya (Struggle) to destablise the country. He pledged to take all measures to prevent a recurrence of an Aragalaya. The Aragalaya at Galle Face Green more..

Mar 5 (TM) The Executive Presidency in SL has done incomprehensible things to the holders of that exalted office ever since it was created in 1978, with the country and its people almost always being at the receiving end. The first holder of that office and uncle of the current, Junius Richard Jayewardene, who customised and crafted the post for himself, knew exactly what he was doing, and even boasted that the only power it lacked was to transform a man into a woman and vice versa. more..

Mar 5 (Island) Our regular columnist Nan has commented today about the everyday spectacle of short haired and bearded Buddhist monks participating in various protests. They are regularly projected on television screens and their rowdy behavior attracts the revulsion of not only Buddhists but also followers of other religions. Some of the antics beamed on national television, particularly that of a monk leaping over a spiked gate at the Education Ministry a few days ago losing more..

Mar 5 (ST) My Dear Anura Kumara sahodaraya, I thought of writing to you because you seem to be in the limelight these days even more than Uncle Ranil, criss-crossing the country and attending meeting after meeting and being sought after by many for an interview. All this is because of your campaign for an election that may still be held, after all! It is a remarkable turnaround. Just a few years ago, you and your rathu sahodarayas were being ridiculed by your opponents as the three percent party. more..

Mar 5 (ST) Rumesh Ratnayake, national coach of SL women’s team, rues of falling short of firing themselves into the semi-finals, which would have been history for the Lankan ladies at last month’s Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa. Chamari Athapaththu-led side, started the tournament on a high by stunning hosts South Africa with a 3-run win. Their momentum got only better after beating B'desh convincingly by 7 wts. more..

Mar 5 (DM) Two suspects who threatened and handcuffed the former Chairman of the Sri Lanka Cricket Board, Ana Punchiheva, and robbed him of money and other property near the Borella Cemetery, had been arrested by Borella Police. The suspects were identified as two civil workers at the Inspector General’s warehouse. The incident was reported on February 15 and the suspects had stolen Rs.200,000 in cash, an Apple mobile phone and a watch of the former SLC Chairman. more..

Mar 5 (ST) SLC has sold its global broadcasting rights once again to Indian based pay-TV broadcaster Sony Pictures for a sum of US$ 21,204,117 for four years starting April 2023. Sony, SLC’s long standing broadcast partner, reportedly paid US$ 22.5m in 2020 to acquire the rights for 3 years. There’s a slight drop in the price this year. Sony was challenged by Star, leading broadcasting giants who owns the rights to Indian cricket, but their offer has been far below the expectation. more..

Mar 5 (Island) All of us cricket nerds have heard stories of Sir Don Bradman’s visit to P. Sara Oval. There are a couple of images too; one where he strides out to bat and another where he walks alongside Ceylon skipper Mahadevan Sathasivam for the toss. There are other famous stories as well about how the greatest batsman the game has seen appreciating the scoreboard at The Oval and him finding out the inadequacies of the pitch. Some even believed that P. Sara Oval was the only more..

Mar 5 (ST) Govt will be winding up or transferring the powers of more than 100 commissions, agencies and advisory boards, after revelations that their services were not needed or could be performed by existing institutions. The Salaries and Cadres Commission among them would be closed down from March 31 and its functions taken over by the Director General of the Department of Management Services under the Finance Ministry and the Director General of Establishment Management under more..

Mar 5 (TM) Executive Board of the IMF is to meet on the 20th of this month and the proposed financial facility for SL is likely to be taken up for discussion and decision that day. A highly-placed Govt source said that all documents pertaining to SL’s proposed Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme would be sent to the IMF this week to be taken up at the Executive Board meeting on the 20th. “Everything has been done and more..

Mar 5 (DM) Lawyers for National People's Power (NPP) urged the political authority and the relevant officials to make arrangements to conduct the LG Election by respecting the verdict of the Supreme Court with regard to the LG polls. Attorney-at-Law Sunil Watagala told a news conference that the Elections Commission has been made a respondent in the case and that if the Elections Commission was taking the side of the people, it should fix an early date for the election. more..

Mar 5 (EN) Police have asked the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka for guidelines on dealing with ever increasing protests and public demonstrations in a bid to address allegations of excesses and violations of personal freedoms. Police chief C. D. Wickramaratne in a seven-page letter to the Commission on Friday outlined four scenarios when police officers are required to deal with both peaceful crowds and violent mobs and sought advise on how they should react. more..

Mar 5 (SO) Commission appointed by Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe to investigate claims that the telecom tower in Anuradhapura harms the Sacred Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi tree, will present its report to the President this week, the Commission members said. Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Niranjan Gunawardena, had instructed its members, Telecom Regulatory Commission (TRC) Network Director and Additional Director General more..

Mar 5 (DM) GMOA claimed that there is a shortage of the supply of at least 130 essential ingredients used for manufacturing ayurvedic medicines. GAMOA President Dr. P.Hewagamage said, number of ingrediats used to import as they not available in our country. Most of the ingredients are imported from countries such as China & India. "The difficulties faced by the suppliers prevented them from importing the ingredients. This could cause a serious issue for the Ayurvedic medicine more..

Mar 5 (DM) Kusal Mendis fell just short of a century and Oshada Fernando retired not out for 78 on the opening day of SL's two-day warm-up match against NZ XI at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln on Saturday. While this NZ XI does not feature any of the 13 players the hosts named for the first Test starting on Thursday (9), SL's batsmen scored briskly before declaring on 276 for 4 in 57.3 overs. Mendis was paricularly aggressive scoring 95 off just 87 deliveries faced, his innings more..

Mar 5 (TM) The 93rd Battle of the Maroons kicked off at the SSC Ground yesterday. Ananda College won the toss and elected to ball first and Nalanda College posted 280 runs for 5 in their first innings. In reply, Ananda College were 41 for 1 at stumps on Day 1. The second Big Match of the season, after the Isipathana-Thurstan Big Match which took place last weekend, started off in a thrilling fashion. Nalanda College lost their first wicket in the second over when Kaveesha Imasha caught more..

Mar 5 (TM) Sri Lankan Lucion Pushparaj managed to win the fourth place in the world once again at the Arnold Classic Amateur Bodybuilding Championship held in the US this year. For this tournament held in Columbus, Ohio, US, Lucion competed in the super heavyweight category. He won fourth place in this tournament last year as well. The Arnold Sports Festival is one of the world’s largest multi-sport events, drawing more than 10,000 spectators from more than 80 countries to Columbus. more..

Mar 5 (ST) The island is an uninhabited one located just a few nautical miles away from the IMBL of SL’s territorial waters. Facing the Indian Ocean from the coast is the statue of St Anthony’s holding a cross. Behind the statue is the newly built shrine that acts as a lighthouse for fisherfolk from both India and SL. In addition, it gives an inkling to Indian fishermen as to how close they are to the IMBL. more..

Mar 5 (SO) Several new Indian airlines are ready to operate flights to Jaffna from new destinations, said Consul General of India in Jaffna Raakesh Nattaj on the sidelines of the 13th Edition of the Jaffna International Trade Fair which began at the Muttraweli Grounds, adjoining the Jaffna Fort. The event is organised by Lanka Exhibition and Conference Services (Pvt) Ltd (LECS), in association with the Chamber of Commerce and Industries of Yarlpanam (CCIY). more..

Mar 5 (Island) Executive Director of Election monitoring body People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL), , Rohana Hettiarachchi said on Friday that the govt has taken extra steps to ensure that independent commissions can’t secure the services of legal professionals outside of state service. This would cripple these commissions’ ability to take any action that goes against the desires of the govts and undermines the concept of independent commissions, he said. more..

Mar 5 (TM) International Trade Office (ITO) established under the Presidential Secretariat received a fresh mandate last week from the Cabinet to revive the stalled talks with Bangladesh regarding the proposed Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) and will accordingly be taking steps to fix a date for the next round of talks. SL Int'l Trade Office Chief Negotiator K.J. Weerasinghe explained that the negotiation of trade agreements had previously been the responsibility of more..

Mar 5 (AD) The Executive Committee of the SLPP has decided to remove Prof. G.L. Peiris from his post as the Chairman of the party. Accordingly, SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam stated that the decision was taken unanimously by the Executive Council at a meeting held recently. He added that although the former Education Minister was invited in writing to attend the meeting, he did not do so. SLPP is reportedly considering suitable persons for the now vacant position, more..

Mar 5 (TM) Following the interim order issued by the Supreme Court on Friday (3) preventing the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance from withholding the funds allocated through the 2023 Budget for the LG Polls, State Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said the ministry would respect and act according to the decision. “We should abide by the court decision. It is our responsibility. more..

Mar 5 (TM) The CEB is gearing up to introduce a new price formula for solar power while abolishing the tariff revision introduced to the sector last year. Accordingly, it is reliably learnt that the relevant Cabinet paper will soon be submitted by Power & Energy Ministry. The decision was taken at a recent discussion held at the Presidential Secretariat considering the grievances submitted by local solar power developers following the new tariff revision introduced last year, it is learnt. more..

Mar 5 (ST) Election Commission (EC) is unable to offer relief to more than 3000 public servants contesting the local council elections and who are now in severe financial distress owing to uncertainty over the polls date. In line with the election law, the employees have taken no-pay leave from their workplaces to contest the upcoming election as candidates. With the EC no longer able to hold the election as scheduled on March 9, many of these candidates are facing a difficult situation as more..

Mar 5 (ST) Sri Lanka’s bankruptcy, the result of mismanagement by then Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa, is all too well known. Making matters worse was his inability to take tangible corrective measures, except ensconce himself in the Janadipathi Mandiriya and later flee SL. The adverse impact of his actions is still being felt by Sri Lankans from different walks of life. Yet, no formal probe has been initiated by the govt to determine how more..

Mar 6 (DM) The war in Ukraine has dragged on for over 371 days. Ukraine has been laid waste. United Nations OHCHR verified a total of 8,006 civilian deaths during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as of February 26, 2023, of them, 488 were children. Another 2,383 persons have been injured according to UN estimates. Statista.com estimated on Feb 14, the damage to housing facilities from the Russian invasion of Ukraine based on publicly available evidence was estimated at US$ 54 billion. more..

Mar 6 (CT) With the exception of a few indigenous and territorial laws, such as the Thesawalamai Law, Kadyan Law, and Muslim Law, the legal system of SL is heavily influenced by the Roman-Dutch Law and English law, which is also known as Common Law. Among the two latter laws, which were introduced to Sri Lanka by colonial rulers, the English Law is the most prevalent one and the majority of our legal system – codes, laws, Acts, Ordinances, and even the Constitution more..

Mar 6 (TM) The anticipated IMF bailout for SL is no longer merely a SL issue and has become an international issue which requires global discussions and consensus, says Economist Umesh Moramudali, in the backdrop of China’s call for multilateral debt restructuring. “It has gone beyond SL. We see international rivalries going on based on this situation,” noted Moramudali, pointing out that on one hand, the IMF felt pressure more..

Mar 6 (ST) When the Prez of SL pronounces weightily that a change in political power can take place only through a parliamentary process and not as a result of street protests, a delicious irony is quickly manifested. In other words, Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe’s ascent as head of State, despite being unable to retain his parliamentary seat, was precisely as a result of the protests that he now disparages. Whether this led to an actual change in Govt or not, is to quibble over words. more..

Mar 6 (ST) Successive govts have searched for years the depths of the Mannar basin for oil but the continuous failure to strike black gold beneath the Lankan sea seems to have pushed this govt to find the answer for a cheaper fuel source buried in the Chernobyl disaster’s nuclear debris. On Feb 28, minister Bandula Gunawardena unveiled the Govt’s gigantic leap into the dangerous realm of nuclear technology and said the cabinet had approved plans to set up a nuclear power plant on SL soil. more..

Mar 6 (TM) Disunity and politicisation has destroyed Sri Lanka, veteran policymaker and former Speaker of the Parliament Karu Jayasuriya said. Jayasuriya, who is the Chairman of the NMSJ, called for broad political consensus to navigate SL out of the crisis it was facing, through a ceasefire between the Opposition and the Govt to enable meaningful progress for recovery. The former Speaker opined that such a ceasefire would more..

Mar 6 (TM) As part of efforts to revive the crisis-affected tourism sector, Govt is contemplating introducing a training and licencing programme to streamline three-wheeler drivers who play a unique role in this sector. Under this programme, registered three-wheeler drivers operating in tourist areas will be trained in providing a professional and safe service to tourists, and a mobile app would also be introduced to tourists to obtain the services of such trained three-wheeler drivers more..

Mar 6 (Island) Rajapaksa-Wickremesinghe regime has been painting itself into a corner on the political front by going all out to scuttle the local govt (LG) polls. It succeeded in delaying the elections by manipulating the Treasury to deprive the Election Commission (EC) of funds, but Friday’s Supreme Court (SC) interim order has upended its plans. The apex court has ordered the Secretary to the Finance Ministry and other state officials not to withhold budgetary allocations for the EC. more..

Mar 6 (DM) History repeats itself, first as a tragedy, second as farce. The above sentence was an ornament Karl Marx added to the beginning of Chapter One of his masterpiece, The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, which endeavored to explain in elegant style how in times of revolutionary conflicts those involved often blind themselves in the political, and ideological symbols of past generations, but in a farcical form when initially they all failed tragically. more..