Mar 27 (DM) A Colombo Court while relaxing some of the bail conditions imposed on former minister Mervyn Silva�s son Malaka with regard to the charges of attacking a foreigner at a night club further restrained him from visiting night clubs. Additional Magistrate Nishantha Pieris gave his ruling while inquiring into the petition filed by Malaka�s Counsel seeking to lift the ban imposed on him from visiting night clubs & public places. more..

Mar 27 (Hindu) What is crucial for a quintessential Tamilian who happens to be a vegetarian? It has to be curd. Curd is supremely underrated and most people elsewhere in India use it to end a meal. But ask most Tamilians and they�ll tell you that it could well be the meal by itself, provided you have a handful of rice. This is what I was banking on when I headed to Sri Lanka recently on my honeymoon. �Don�t worry; if we don�t get vegetarian food, we�ll make our own curd rice,� I told my wife. more..

Mar 27 (LT) The majority of the people in this country voted at the presidential election held recently to abolish executive presidency but not to fulfill intentions of Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thero or Minister Champika Ranavaka says the Member of the Political Bureau of the JVP and its Member for WPC K.D. Lal Kantha. Speaking at the Annual General Meeting of the Inter University Services Employees� Trade Union held yesterday Mr. Lal Kantha severely criticized the JHU for more..

Mar 27 (CG) Moscow has paid off its debt to the Colombo port for the maintenance of the Russian research vessel, the Akademik Nikolay Strakhov, the Russian Federal Agency for Scientific Organizations said on Friday. The debt was settled by the Geological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences which owns the research vessel. �The overall amount of payment has reached $66,000,� the Russian Federal Agency said. more..

Mar 27 (GDI) India and Sri Lanka have agreed to extend till June 2016 the ongoing project to assist war affected/poor/destitute women in Batticaloa. In 2010, both countries had signed a MoU to set up Women's Trade Facilitation and Community Learning Centres in Batticaloa, with SEWA (Self Employed Women�s Association) of India as the implementing agency, at a cost of SLR 203 million. An Addendum to the MOU to extend the project till June 2016 was signed on March 26, 2015 at more..

Mar 27 (CT) Highlighting the urgent need for a national minimum wage to be established, Additional Commissioner General of Labour (Enforcement) and Senior Legal Advisor to the Labour Department, P.S. Pathirana said that the law at present was wholly insufficient to provide for it. Pathirana added that the Shop and Office Employees (Regulation of Employment and Remuneration) Act allowed a three-fold method with regards to deciding salaries including the Minister of Labour ordering more..

Mar 27 (CG) The Govt today denied reports that President Maithripala Sirisena had given China an assurance that the controversial Port City project will be allowed to resume. Deputy Foreign Minister Ajith Perera said that while the matter had been discussed between the President and China during his ongoing China visit, there was no assurance given that the project will be allowed to resume soon. more..

Mar 27 (LBO) Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena has appointed new members for the law commission, justice ministry said in a statement. The law commission act provides that suitable eminent persons who have held or hold judicial office, or have experience as attorneys-at-law or teachers in law or are academically qualified in law can be appointed as commissioners to the law commission. Main purpose of the law commission would be to promote reform of law. more..

Mar 27 (DN) Having been born in estate line rooms, I have learned much about life of the plantation Tamil community. I know their woes and happinesses, but I didn't learn to protect the criminals," said President of the NUW and Minister P. Digambaram. He was addressing a large gathering of estate workers after laying the foundation stone for building 20 houses at Wellington Estate in Hatton recently. The Plantation Development Trust Chairman more..

Mar 27 (HCI) High Commissioner, Mr. Y.K. Sinha, visited Batticaloa and Ampara from March 23-25. He held wide ranging discussions with various stakeholders including Chief Minister of Eastern Province, Mr. Nazeer Ahamed; Minister of Health, Eastern Province, Mr. M.I.M. Mansoor; and District Secretary, Batticaloa, Ms. P.S.M. Charles, to assess on the ground the impact of Govt of India�s projects and to understand local priorities and more..

Mar 27 (CG) Former minister Mervyn Silva told Criminal Investigations Department that former defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa was involved in the killing of former editor of Sunday Leader Lasantha Wickrematunge. Speaking to local media, Silva stated that he gave all relevant information to the CID. Silva added that Gotabaya Rajapaksa intensely hated Wickrematunga and knew about the incident. Rajapaksa acts on gossip that reaches his ears, Silva added. more..

Mar 27 (AM) NFF Leader and Former Minister Wimal Weerawansa arrived at the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption this morning. Weerewansa was summoned by the Bribery Commission to be questioned further on the complaints against him. He arrived at about 9.30am. He was summoned earlier to the commission on March 9. The 2015 Presidential Election Candidate of the Our National Front Attorney-at-Law Namal Ajith Rajapaksha filed a complaint against more..

Mar 27 (AD) The suspect arrested over the attack on President Sirisena�s brother Priyantha, says he hid and waited before attacking the victim with an axe, because the latter had yelled at his parents. Ishara Saputhanthri was arrested last night after he surrendered to Bakamuna Police following the incident. During interrogations, suspect revealed that the crime was committed in retribution as Priyantha had yelled at his parents more..

Mar 27 (SS) In the end, they got their sums wrong, and picked the wrong strokes to play. Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jaywardena showed that sometimes there are no second acts in cricketing lives. One of the great double acts in the game, Sangawardena will play together no more. An era has ended. Like the ordinary fantasist, players too dream of finishing in a blaze of glory, but sport can be cruel. In 2007 (Jayawardena) and 2011 (Sangakkara), they led SL to final of the WC. more..

Mar 27 (IANS) As PM Narendra Modi begins to build a relationship with Sri Lanka's new leadership, the one thing he needs to be wary of is the extremist Tamil position in the island nation. Modi made history by becoming the first Indian prime minister to visit Sri Lanka after 1987 when Rajiv Gandhi went to Colombo to sign a pact to end Tamil separatism, which eventually consumed his life in 1991. Modi won many hearts by becoming the first Indian leader to visit Jaffna, the Tamil heartland which more..

Mar 27 (AFP) Sri Lankan cricketing authorities blamed a lack of fitness and the poor form of the side's top order batsmen for failing to progress beyond the quarterfinals of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Chief Selector Sanath Jayasuriya -- a member of Sri Lanka's 1996 World Cup-winning team -- said officials will draw up new standards to ensure better fitness and take hard decisions about players who were below par. more..

Mar 28 (CT) The discovery of the bodies of four members of the same family in Wennapuwa on 1 Jan 2015 is one of the gravest crimes reported in recent times. The victims of these horrific murders were a dental surgeon attached to the Lunuwila Hospital, her husband who was a businessman, their 13-year-old son, and 15-year-old daughter. Police Spokesman Ajith Rohana stated to the media that an individual who had served as a watchman has been arrested in connection with more..

Mar 28 (CT) Sunday Times in its last week edition carried somewhat a disturbing headline story that brought embarrassment to Sri Lanka mainly on international theatre. The story elaborated how Sri Lanka�s former Ambassador to Russia had allegedly involved in arms sales to separatist rebel fighters in Ukraine. This episode evolved following a formal complaint by the Ukrainian govt of Petro Poroshenko lodged a formal and detailed complaint with the Sri Lanka Ministry of Foreign Affairs, more..

Mar 28 (SO) The mini- hydro project which is nearing completion in the protected Sri Pada reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site is flouting environmental laws and causing immense environmental damage. Construction work is going on apace blocking the water which flowed to two of the seven waterfalls of Ella Hatha. Well-known environmental lawyer and environmentalist, Jagath Gunewardena said "Many were of the view more..

Mar 28 (NS) For years, Sri Lanka has come under fire for being a poor environment for journalism. Even disregarding the occasional pistol-whipping � that�s a topic for another day - journalists suffer from the fact that Sri Lanka, as lovely as it is, has no laws on a person�s right to information. What this means is that for all this time, there was no structure giving people the right to ask questions, and get an honest answer in return. Any conditions on disclosure were at the whim � and at the whims of the thugs more..

Mar 28 (NS) Why should a country have more than a single version of its national anthem? This is the question that many are asking following President Maithripala Sirisena sanctioning the use of the Tamil version of Sri Lanka Matha. Those who ask this question by way of supporting the obvious answer to the rhetorical question (�there�s no reason to have more than one version�) point to India�s case. India is made of many states populated by people speaking several major languages more..

Mar 28 (CT) Many think of truth commissions, new laws and restitution when they think of reconciliation. But in a country like Sri Lanka where there is deep rooted prejudices and mistrust among ethnicities, education can play a key role in achieving true reconciliation. Ceylon Today speaks to former State Minister of Education Rajiva Wijesinha to speak further on using Education as a tool, in reconciliation and ethnic harmony. more..

Mar 28 (CT) Has the Judiciary in Sri Lanka discharged its functions in a satisfactory manner? Development of public law in Sri Lanka has a history of ups and downs. Let us consider some of the 'high profile' cases which demonstrate the above issue. Being conscious of the adage that 'one swallow does not a summer make' some of the recent rulings of the Courts have failed to maintain and uphold the delicate balance between the organs of the govt where balance has to be sustained to more..

Mar 28 (sL) The little-known Labour Party�s claim that former President Rajapaksa would enter the prime ministerial fray is bemusing and confusing at the same time. Party leader A S P Liyanage contested the presidential polls, yet campaigned for Rajapaksa in his free time on State broadcasters, making the latter�s present silence intriguing as well. Even more intriguing is the way the non-SLFP UPFA partners readily accepted President Sirisena as their leader, after holding two, more..

Mar 28 (SO) Added to the magnitude of problems women face, lapses in implementing laws to penalise perpetrators of rape have raised eyebrows in civil society and women's rights organisations. Limitations and loopholes in the law have enabled sex offenders to get away and continue to commit the crime. Attorney-at-Law Cyrene Siriwardena said that though Sri Lanka has excellent laws to curb violence against women, the laws are not vigorously implemented to take perpetrators to task. more..

Mar 28 (Island) This article is really in continuation of my article, After the Modi visit, which appeared in The Island of March 21. That article was written hurriedly while I was still convalescent and in a state of alarm. Since then I have had time to consider some important feedbacks that I have received and to study in detail an important policy statement of PM Modi. I have come to two firm conclusions. One is that seen in the perspective of promoting a political solution to Tamil ethnic problem more..

Mar 28 (CT) Leader of the PHU, Udaya Gammanpila says if Mahinda Rajapaksa is not given nominations to contest the next general election as the party's prime ministerial candidate, the SLFP will not break in two. "What will happen is that 95% of the SLFP members will gather around Mahinda Rajapaksa. If the prime ministerial candidacy is not given to Mahinda that means President Sirisena has defeated SLFP more..

Mar 28 (Island) It required last Sunday�s crossover from the SLFP to the Maithri Govt to send out a truly national message. It is hard to get any better combination of politicians to best represent the nation, making up what is being readily called a national govt, with some disagreement: which is in keeping with the restored democracy we now enjoy. The true national image of this new package of governance is fully in keeping with the widely accepted position of the nation as Sinhala, more..

Mar 28 (CT) Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong expressing his views on the demise of his father and the founder of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew in a TV interview pointed out that when he entered politics, his father had told him that Singapore had prospered within a short period since it gained independence in 1965 due to the unity and integrity it maintained with the minorities in the country. Lee Kuan Yew who died at the age of 91 a few days ago on 23 March had also reminded his son more..

Mar 28 (ST) Athithya Murugananthavel was assailed by doubts. Having taken up photography, she thought her older sister, Karthiga, who had persuaded her to engage in this hobby, was far superior to her. Never in her wildest imaginings did she assume that photography would pave the way for her to visit a land of immense and diverse landscapes at the far corner of the world. more..

Mar 28 (Island) What is this world coming to when cricketers cannot play matches without worrying about the safety of their homes? Indian Cricket Captain M.S. Dhoni�s house has come under attack following his team�s loss in the World Cup semi-final down under. Stones were pelted at his residence by a mob, we are told. Media wrongly described the attackers as cricket fans. How can those who cannot stomach defeat in a cricket match be called fans? They are, to be charitable, sickos. more..

Mar 28 (FL) One hopes that President Sirisena�s visit to India on Feb 15 will truly mark a turning point in the relations between the two countries. To accomplish that, India�s outlook and approach will have to change in fundamental respects. India has legitimate security interests in the region and legitimate concerns in the welfare of the Tamil citizens of SL. But neither the interests nor the concerns have been served by the policies that India has followed, since 1983, to be precise. more..

Mar 28 (DM) All Sri Lankans are requested to join hundreds of millions of people from around the world, by participating in the Earth Hour initiative and showing their commitment to preserving the planet. Today you will see homes, schools, businesses and iconic landmarks across the planet turn off their lights for the appointed one hour � Earth Hour; on Saturday 28 March at 8.30 p.m. This single act transcends all barriers of more..

Mar 28 (Island) Intel, the world renowned IT giant introduced the all new Intel Compute Stick here in Sri Lanka, which is capable of transforming any viewing device with an HDMI input, into a computer by connecting the device which is no larger than an internet dongle. The Intel Compute Stick, which appears just like a dongle in shape and size, is an all new innovative design by the Intel laboratory with the objective of further simplifying the concept of computing and increasing the mobility and more..

Mar 28 (SO) In fairness to contractors, if work on mega projects is suspended, as has been proposed by the Govt, re-mobilisation of the project will be a costly exercise. Thus, it would be in the best interests of both parties to ensure that the review process is concluded speedily and efficiently, Chamber of Construction Industry (CCI) Sri Lanka, President Dr. Surath Wickramasinghe said in a letter to the Govt. "The CCI, is the apex body of the construction industry. more..

Mar 28 (DM) Coach Marvan Atapattu admitted that last year�s hastily arranged five-match ODI series in India may have contributed towards a lack of fitness among team members and insisted that more emphasis must be placed on the fitness of the cricketers. �We must have a minimum fitness criteria for national team selection,� Atapattu said. �Going into the future, I think we must stress on this in order to minimize injuries more..

Mar 28 (SS) There are no fairy-tale finishes in sport. But when Mahela Jayawardena and Kumar Sangakkara played out their final act in ODIs � a soul-sapping defeat against South Africa in a World Cup quarterfinal in Sydney on March 18 � the overwhelming feeling across the cricketing universe was that they deserved to go in a better fashion. Such is the goodwill the duo enjoyed and such is the sheer respect and regard that team-mates and rivals share in equal measure for the two greats. more..

Mar 28 (Hindu) The red rain that occurred in parts of Kerala and Sri Lanka in 2011 was caused by the aerial dispersal of algal spores from Europe to the Indian subcontinent, scientists have reported. A team of scientists from the Central University of Punjab; SB College, Changanassery; SN College, Kollam; and University of Salzburg, Austria, have established that the alga, Trentepohlia annulata , never before reported from India, was responsible for the blood rain. more..

Mar 28 (ENS) Faced with the challenge of showing by September this year, concrete progress towards reconciliation with the Tamil minority, the Sri Lankan govt has taken several steps to take the reconciliation process forward. President Maithripala Sirisena set the ball rolling by announcing that he would give back to the Tamils of the Northern Province, 1000 acres of land and the hand back to the Tamils of Eastern Province, more..