May 11 (TM) Civil society organisations representing the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning, intersex plus (LGBTQI+) community yesterday stressed that it is the responsibility of Parliamentarians to pass the private Member Bill submitted to the Parliament by SLPP Govt MP, Attorney Premnath C. Dolawatte to amend Sections 365 and 365A in the Penal Code, thereby decriminalising same sex sexual activity. more..

May 11 (AD) Bill to amend Provincial Councils (PC) Elections Act, presented by Jaffna District MP M.A. Sumanthiran as a Private Member’s Bill, has been published in the govt gazette. If the parliament enacts the Bill, Provincial Council Elections Act No. 17 of 2017 will be repealed. Further, the provincial council elections can be held under the old voting system if the Bill is adopted. TNA MP’s bill to amend PC Elections Act was first published in the govt gazette on Oct 11, 2019 more..

May 11 (EN) Sri Lanka has filed a damages claim against Express Pearl marine disaster Singapore but will also fight the case in the UK after insurers and owners went to Admiralty Courts seeking to limit compensation to 19.8 sterling pounds, Justice Minister Wijedasa Rajapaksa said. SL has filed a case in Singapore on April 25, seeking damages from which was to be heard in June but has been brought forward to this week. SL’s lawyers will seek more time, Rajapsaksa said. more..

May 11 (EN) The SJB has issued letters of demand to the owners of the MV X-Press Pearl containership seeking compensation for the worst maritime disaster in the country’s history. SJB and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa told parliament on Thursday that the party filed legal action against a number of shipping companies associated with the ship in a bid to assist the SL govt’s efforts to file a damages claim. more..

May 11 (AD) Transparency International SL (TISL) filed a petition (SC SD 19/2023) with the Supreme Court, challenging the Anti-Corruption Bill, highlighting several key concerns. The civil society organization, stating that it welcomes the long-awaited Anti-Corruption Bill, went on to challenge certain provisions of the law through its petition, on the basis that they are unconstitutional. TISL says the law must be enacted in accordance with accepted international norms, more..

May 11 (TM) All MPs representing the Muslim community except for SLMC Leader and SIB MP Rauff Hakeem have purportedly boycotted a meeting to discuss the proposed reforms to the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) of 1951, according to victimised Muslim females who attended the same, yesterday. A female who participated in the meeting claimed that all Muslim MPs and nearly 15 victims had been invited to a discussion organised by more..

May 12 (DM) The present rulers of this nation have asked time till 2048 to make a Sri Lanka a developed nation. When we look at the long journey ahead and the number of years that have to be slogged, we must look at China for inspiration. Till 1979 China was a stagnated country and economic experts observed back then that no growth was possible. But China opened up to foreign trade and investment and implemented free market reforms in 1979. The rest is history. more..

May 12 (GV) Two weeks ago, a complaint was made by Ms. Ishara Devendra, a journalist, about her workplace culture at ITN. Ms Devendra’s allegations, posted on her personal Facebook page, were that she had been subjected to continual harassment by a senior official at ITN, but that the organisation had taken no action to address the situation. The day after she published her post on Facebook, a press release was issued by the Federation of Media Employees’ Trade Unions in support of more..

May 12 (SO) In 2020 SL drug kingpin Dharmasiri Perera better known by his alias Alto Dharme was arrested by Abu Dhabi Police over a visa irregularity. However, he was never extradited to SL and continues to live in the UAE while operating his illegal drug trafficking business from the Middle Eastern country. Shaminda Silva known as Gonakovile Kudu Anju in the underworld is considered to be Alto Dharme’s boss. more..

May 12 (DM) Imran Khan is perhaps the best Prime Minister Pakistan has ever had. Today he is in remand custody in an unknown location amid fears that he would be killed by Pakistan’s all-powerful military, state within the state that is above the law. He survived an assassination attempt last year and accused the head of the Inter-Service-Intelligence of trying to kill him. No Pakistani leader in recent years has been as popular as Khan, world cup-winning cricket captain turned politician. more..

May 12 (CT) Sri Lanka, and the whole world of course, has never been fully devoid of crime. The crimes, which used to take place in less-populated streets or buildings or somewhere of that token, have now seemingly changed their physicality; the grounds now have taken a shift into the virtual world of cyberspace, as had been expected, to be credited to the account of the advancement of technology. In fact, Sri Lanka has been at the receiving end of cyber crimes for quite some time, more..

May 12 (CT) Sri Lanka has made a positive development in terms of protecting the rights of the indigenous population, whilst ensuring their traditional lands are safeguarded. This was evident by way of the only case filed, on behalf of indigenous people, by the Vedda Chief Uruwarige Wannila Aththo and the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) against the mass deforestation at Pollebedda-Rambakan Oya, more..

May 12 (Island) There is hardly anything that the ruling party politicians and their cronies hate more than last year’s anti-govt protests, which brought them down a peg or two. Never do they miss an opportunity to demonise Aragalaya. Minister Prasanna Ranatunga, speaking in Parliament, demanded to know from Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa why the SJB had not mentioned the fact that a suspected sexual predator currently in police custody had been involved in Aragalaya. more..

May 12 (ST) Some years ago, rural graduates were given placements in the private sector on a reasonable salary under a new programme of recruiting state graduates to the private sector. While the wages were decent, they had to pay for accommodation in Colombo, food and other costs. However, when the govt announced a scheme to recruit graduates to state entities, those who were already working in private sector switched careers, even though a lower salary was offered. more..

May 12 (TM) Even though various discourses on the pros and cons and the necessity of reforms to the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) of 1951 have shown promising signs in the recent past, with Muslim activists also being more forthcoming, an incident that took place this week in the country’s main law making entity raises doubts as to how interested Muslim MPs are in seeing these reforms. As was reported by The Daily Morning, a meeting organised to discuss the proposed more..

May 12 (Island) SL is planning to initiate nuclear power generation after a long delay––a prudent decision to secure future energy demand and reduce emissions. However, some parties have expressed skepticism that nuclear energy is unsuitable for SL, saying it poses a risk of environmental radioactive contamination in reactor meltdowns and waste disposal. It is true that Madame Curies’ laboratory in a suburb of Paris, where she meddled with truckloads of uranium mineral pitchblende, more..

May 12 (FT) Port City Economic Commission Chairman Dinesh Weerakkody yesterday revealed that Colombo Port City (CPC) is slated to draw a fresh $ 1.3 billion when it breaks ground on the CIFC Phase One, three towers, the Villa plot and the Marina hotel in the third quarter of 2023. Prior to this, China Harbour Engineering Corporation (CHEC) had invested $ 1.4 billion in developing the CPC to what it is now. more..

May 12 (FT) Damro Holdings, SL headquartered furniture manufacturing and retail colossus, is making a new thrust to consolidate and expand its exports business with high-powered additions to the Board of Directors and an investment of Rs. 310 million in a new Exports Office. The Group’s new Board of Directors, Chairman/Independent Director Anil Amarasuriya, a former Managing Director of Sampath Bank; Deputy Chairman S. Renganathan, a former Managing Director of more..

May 12 (FT) PM Dinesh Gunawardena this week said there is a growing demand for fish products in Europe as well as in countries including Japan, and the SL fishing sector could cater to that demand by increasing fish production. He added that Cey-Nor Foundation, as the largest boat builder in SL could make a major contribution by expanding fibre boat production. Speaking at the 55th anniversary celebrations of the Cey-Nor Foundation at SL Foundation in Colombo on 8 May, more..

May 12 (Island) Sprinters Merone Wijesinghe of Ananda College, Colombo and Dinara Bandara Dela of Gateway College, Colombo who won the Under 20 boys’ and girls’ 100 metres sprints at the just concluded Junior National Athletics C'ships will complete the eight member team for the upcoming Asian Junior Athletics C'ships. Wijesinghe returned a time of 10.79 seconds to win the Under 20 boys’ 100 metres at the Junior Nationals on Wednesday. However, it was his 10.77 seconds feat more..

May 12 (Island) Commercial Bank of Ceylon is to award fully-equipped IT labs to the three schools that won the Project RUN competition conducted by Mother Sri Lanka, a non-profit organisation working to advance educational, socio-economic and cultural development via programmes in schools country-wide. The pledge was made at Temple Trees where the awards ceremony of Project RUN took place and the top three prize-winning schools – Mylani Saiva Maha Vidyalayam – Chunnakam, more..

May 12 (FT) First set of a planned 500,000 converted eTuk-Tuks was put to the road by the Govt in partnership with UNDP as part a drive to promote low carbon emobility solution. SL, like many other global nations, is working towards adopting greener and cleaner approaches for a more sustainable and resilient future. With the prevailing socio-economic crisis, a shift towards adopting sustainable mobility approaches has been more..

May 12 (AD) A 22-year-old female was reported missing five days ago in Gampola, Police have revealed. Accordingly, Fathima Munawwara, a resident of Weligalla, Elpitiya in the Gampola area, was reported missing on Sunday morning. She was last seen while on her way to work, walking in search of a bus from her house towards the Weligalla town. Police further revealed that the 22-year-old, who has now been missing for five days, was employed at a pharmacy in the area. more..

May 12 (CT) Sri Lanka Emerging Team registered a comfortable 68-run win over Japan in the second T20I worked off at Sano International Cricket Stadium yesterday. Opting to bowl first, Japan were rewarded straight away when they struck with the very first ball to dismiss opener Sithara Hapuhinna to put early pressure on the visitors. Despite a shaky start, Shehan Fernando and Sahil Dias put on a 46 runs partnership for the 3rd wicket to take them from 4-2 to 50-2. more..

May 12 (DM) 26 animal rights activists including Otara Gunewardene have filed a writ petition in the Court of Appeal challenging the proposed capture and exportation of 100,000 Toque Macaque monkeys to China. Minister Mahinda Amaraweera had recently publicly announced that the Govt was considering a request by the Chinese Govt to export 100,000 Toque Macaque monkeys, which are endemic to SL more..

May 12 (DN) “We must respect each other and always respect ICC law as well as Our laws said Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe at a discussion with the ICC 3-member committee headed by ICC Deputy Chairman Imran Khwaja yesterday at the Sports Ministry Board room. “I give my fullest support to develop cricket and we want to do the right thing to uplift the game. We know Sri Lanka cricket is on the decline and we should work to develop the game said Sports Minister more..

May 12 (AD) A female who had allegedly used an 11-year-old child to beg on the streets in the Obeysekerapura area in Kolonnawa was arrested recently. Accordingly, the suspect, identified as Niluka Priyadarshani, a resident of Peliyagoda, was arrested on 09 May for reportedly illegally using a child to beg on the streets, after having heroin forcefully administered into the child. The arrest was carried out by the Welikada Police based on a tip-off received in this regard. more..

May 12 (FT) Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance has inked a deal with veteran SL cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan’s company Ceylon Beverage International. Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries is working aggressively to establish its dominance in the massive soft drink market in India. In order to achieve its goal, Mukesh Ambani has launched the decades-old brand Campa Cola in a new avatar. Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance is signing agreements with an aim to capture maximum more..

May 12 (FT) Govt announced that five housing projects worth Rs. 25 billion will be constructed for middle-income families over the next three years. Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said this mega housing projects consist of 866 housing units and is planned to be constructed in Welisara, Nittambuwa, Sri J'pura Kotte, Athurugiriya and Kaduwela areas. These housing projects are constructed by the Urban Settlement Development Authority under the purview of Urban Dev & Housing Ministry. more..

May 12 (TM) Ministry of Technology is to introduce new laws concerning the research and innovation sectors in order to enhance technology related investment opportunities within the country and to encourage the new generation to pursue more careers in the technology field. Ministry has observed a lack of rules and regulations which promote innovation and technology based investment opportunities which could directly more..

May 12 (CT) Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) recently signed a MoU with the Uni of Moratuwa, to formalise collaborative efforts to improve financial literacy among undergraduates in SL, CSE said and added the collaboration proposes to promote capital market education among undergraduates by working together on a number of mutually beneficial strategic initiatives. Accordingly, initiative would offer practical educational training and internship opportunities for students of the Uni of Moratuwa more..

May 12 (ST) Over 65% of schools with A/L classes do not offer science subjects, UGC Chairman Prof Sampath Amaratunga said. He told the COPE that of the 2952 govt schools that have A/L classes only 1011 offer science subjects as an option. COPE chairman Prof. Ranjith Bandara raising concern over the matter advised Education Ministry secretary to immediately intervene and prepare a work plan to enable more students to get into science and technology fields in higher education. more..

May 12 (Island) There are about 40 children afflicted with dengue undergoing treatment at Lady Ridgeway Children’s Hospital (LRH), consultant paediatrician Dr. Deepal Perera says. He said if children have fever, they should be tested for dengue.”If there are symptoms, get the children tested. If they test positive, seek medical help immediately,” he said. Children who are dengue positive must be given natural liquids. They should not be given foods that are red or black in colour, he said. more..

May 12 (DM) MP Namal Rajapaksa said that more details will surface shortly on who the Foreign Party was who backed the Aragalaya and presently SL had a Prez and cabinet appointed by the Aragalaya. "Not just us, even the JVP who were party to the Aragalaya, are now stating that a foreign mission had a role to play in the Aragalaya," Namal said. "Even a fellow MP who was with us has written a book exposing the details," he added. He further said that the JVP was part of the Aragalaya more..

May 12 (TM) Admitting that it was he who had provided information that a certain person had received a bribe of US$ 250 million in relation to the MV X-Press Pearl maritime disaster, SJB MP Ajith Mannapperuma yesterday said that it was regrettable that Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe had thus far failed to ascertain the credibility of that information and make a statement in that regard. Contradicting Dr. Rajapakshe’s statement more..