Apr 10 (Island) UGC in collaboration with the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) will conduct a high-level Consultative Dialogue on Preventing Ragging and Sexual and Gender-based Violence (SGBV) in SL Universities on April 21. Under the Auspices of PM Ranil Wickremesinghe, Dialogue will bring together the Ministers of Higher Education, Vocational Training, Education, Justice, Law and Order, Women�s Affairs and the Media, as well as Vice-Chancellors of universities. more..

Apr 10 (DM) Northern Provincial Council has become a no action - talk only scenario depriving the legitimate basic needs of the Tamil Community which elected the provincial political authorities to address the pressing requirement, Minister of D. M Swaminathan said in a statement. Responding to Northern Province Chief Minister C. V Vigneswaran�s letter informing him of the Provincial Councils decision to reject a project to construct 65,000 houses, the Minister wrote that more..

Apr 10 (SO) Fisheries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said no leaflets were distributed among fishermen regarding the Port City project and added that there were discussions with representatives of fisheries organisations who requested for funds to develop their livelihood. Therefore, in keeping with their request the Ministry has allocated Rs. 500 million to develop the fisheries sector. more..

Apr 10 (DM) Replying to a query regarding the statements of a group of individuals that Minister John Amaratunga was responsible for the demolition of Wattala jogging track and that he should be arrested, he said that it would be wild goose chase that would never materialize. He said the land belonged to a private company and that they had obtained permission to construct a road. He said he was not aware who demolished the jogging track but the company was reconstructing it. more..

Apr 10 (Island) Animal rights advocate and entrepreneur Otara Gunewardene has thanked the IGP for instructing police stations around the country to prevent cruelty to animals during festivities and games associated with the celebration of Sinhala and Tamil New Year. A circular dated March 30, signed by Senior DIG Crimes & Traffic has instructed police officers in charge of provinces, districts, regions and police stations to discourage the practice of conducting bullock cart races. more..

Apr 10 (AD) Sri Lanka Police have launched a special operation, which will last during the festive season from 9th to 20th April, to detect and arrest motorists driving under the influence of alcohol. 1200 police traffic officers will be deployed in Colombo city area while all other Police stations will also launch traffic missions and special traffic plans as required. During the festival season last year, 1980 drunk drivers were arrested. more..

Apr 10 (AD) The Constitutional Council, Sri Lanka�s constitutional authority, is scheduled to convene on April 18 to reach a final decision regarding the appointment of a new Inspector General of Police (IGP). N.K. Illanhakoon, Sri Lanka�s 33rd Police Chief, will officially retire from the service tomorrow. The Constitutional Council has currently received the names of three suitable candidates for the vacant position of IGP, according to CC member and JVP MP Vijitha Herath. more..

Apr 10 (Island) The competition is to build a racing car. That too, to compete internationally vying with 156 Teams from 34 countries. What this meant was Sri Lanka to would compete to build a Formula One car with allied technology. Dimo�s collaboration with Uni of Moratuwa to work towards this goal would be the first time that Sri Lanka would enter the field of international Formula One racing. This did not mean that the car that would be built would also feature a Formula One competitor at the wheel. more..

Apr 10 (DM) Chinese-funded Colombo Port City project which had been stalled earlier citing environmental and legal irregularities will be resumed as a Special Financial and Business Centre under the Western Mega-City plan, PM Ranil Wickremesinghe told reporters in Colombo today. PM said matters with regard to the environmental impacts, legal circumstances and conveyance of the Port City project have been solved after more..

Apr 11 (ST) From a strategic point of view, it was a great sleight of hand for this Govt to have successfully packaged the 19th Amendment to the Constitution as a notable constitutional gain for Sri Lanka, despite its many problematic provisions. Some of these seemingly progressive but actually deadening provisions include bringing back the 17th Amendment�s Constitutional Council (CC) but without its majority of independent members. The failure of the current politically constituted more..

Apr 11 (CT) Since of late, I have come under fire from several members of the opposition parties for postponing the LG polls, and I believe I owe an explanation to the people of SL. If one were to look behind at the recent election history in SL, one would be able to see very fascist politics at play. Politics had become an increasingly violent affair, and this enticed many local dons with vested interests to enter the political domains and avert from contesting any politician with credibility. more..

Apr 11 (CT) Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon is better known as the Executive Director of CaFFE, Sri Lanka's most outspoken election monitoring outfit. However, in recent months he has been actively campaigning against bribery and corruption and to implement Police reforms. Ceylon Today met Tennakoon to get to know the reasons for his shift of focus. Q: We have known you for a long time as an election monitor. more..

Apr 11 (CT) The holding of much delayed local govt elections is apparently caught up in a political, or rather a personal quagmire, more than a legal one. Minister Faiszer Musthapha, at a press briefing on the 8th April declared in essence that �political party secretaries are responsible only for the party members, but I am responsible for the whole country!� He was directly referring to the General Secretary of the UPFA, and also a Cabinet Minister of the present govt, Mahinda Amaraweera more..

Apr 11 (ST) There is no such thing as a free Chinese takeaway; and, if the visiting Lankan high powered delegation led by PM Ranil Wickremesinghe fancied otherwise, the Chinese hosts made pretty certain the guests got the message crystal clear when the fortune cookie, opened after the diplomatic feast of niceties was over, revealed the thumping bill of fare. In a special report published in China�s state owned Global Times on Thursday, the article warned that more..

Apr 11 (SL) Deputy Media Minister Karunarathna Paranawithana says parliament functioning as the constitutional assembly is the most suitable system for Sri Lanka in, and it has been carried out in accordance with the present Constitution. He requested the opposition parties and everyone to support to formulate a new Constitution for the country without confining to narrow political agendas. more..

Apr 11 (Island) The publication of Panama Papers�some 11.5 million encrypted documents leaked from a Panamanian law firm, Mossak Fonseca, has triggered a mega political tsunami. This phenomenal expose is unarguably the biggest ever boost global war on corruption has so far received. The reputed outfits responsible for blowing the lid off the scandal spanning well over four decades�(the German newspaper) S�ddeutsche Zeitung, BBC, The Guardian, more..

Apr 11 (Island) The editorial in The Guardian, UK, on 4th April kicked off by merely noting the obvious: "Thousands of companies, millions of documents and terabytes of data" before making the crucial point that "what has also broken out of the vaults of offshore legal specialists Mossack Fonseca is one over-riding sense: the sense that normal rules do not apply to the global elite. In a new gilded age, taxes would � once again � appear to be for the little people." more..

Apr 11 (SO) She was away from home and newspapers and TV for a couple of days and on her return, bang, she is thrust in the Panana Papers with TV showing the strip of land connecting North and South Americas, white. Maybe the colour of some persons who secreted hora salli and now will be exposed by the leaked data. I can well imagine the shivers going down the spines of them who took financial shelter in offshore banking et al. As stated, Sri Lanka is featured too, in the leak! more..

Apr 11 (Island) The Sri Lankan Economy is in the doldrums. Economist R.M.B. Senanayake has in a recent issue of Sunday Island, rightly pointed out the serious situation our economy is in. The stock market falling since September, a decline of 17% capital outflows from bond and stock markets- foreign purchases of shares in a free fall. Mounting on this is the fact that the world economy is weak and developing countries are bracing for a slow down. He also quotes the UN Report, more..

Apr 11 (ST) When April beckons, there are three events which truly herald its advent. The first is the enthusiastic blossoming of ehela trees. Aptly nicknamed Golden Shower, clusters of gloriously yellow flowers sprinkled around the city only means that April is around the corner. The second is a heightened frequency of the koel�s distinctive cry, immortalized in folk songs and easily recognizable from other bird calls. more..

Apr 11 (CI) In another move signifying the ICC's intent to speed up the growth of cricket in the United States of America, ICC head of global development Tim Anderson announced on Friday that the ICC Americas regional office will be relocating later this year from Toronto to Colorado Springs, Colorado. "The ICC Americas Office has been based in Toronto, Canada for many years. The historic reasons for this have largely been based around convenience as opposed to strategy, more..

Apr 11 (FT) Krishantha Cooray has finally assumed duties as the new Chairman of Hotel Developers (Lanka) Plc, the owning company of Hilton Colombo. Cooray is a private sector executive counting years of experience in the corporate sector and an academic background in Political Science and Law. He also serves on the Board of DFCC Bank. His appointment to Hilton Colombo�s owning company was announced late last year but subsequent events forced a delay in him assuming duties. more..

Apr 11 (SO) The month of March saw the foiling of the first attempt made by a group of 17 Sri Lankans to migrate through unlawful means to Australia by boat, this year. In the pre- dawn hours March 5, the Sri Lankan naval crew onboard ship SLNS Samudura, apprehended a group of Sri Lankans in the seas 40 nautical miles off the Galle lighthouse, while heading towards Australia on a tip off received by intelligence personnel. more..

Apr 11 (CT) The bizarre selection of wrestlers for the forthcoming Olympic Qualification Wrestling Tournament to be held in Mongolia has left the South Asian Games (SAG) medallists in quandary, as three out of the four men's wrestling medallists have been left out from the SrL Team for reasons best known to the Association. Wrestling Association has selected three wrestlers - Chamara Perera, M.C. Abeyratene and Dawson Fernando. Chamara Perera has already been selected for more..

Apr 11 (FT) The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGS) rates the Sri Lankan Girl Guides Association (SLGGA) quite high in terms of performance, membership and empowering the girl child in Sri Lanka. �We are very pleased about the service rendered by the Sri Lankan Girl Guides Association to the local community and appreciate their hard work and visionary,� said WAGGS Asia-Pacific region Representative (Thailand) Lucy Ati-Chatin an interview with the Daily FT. more..

Apr 11 (ST) Navaratnarajah Nimaltan counts his blessings with a radiant smile on his face. He says he was too young to know much about war-torn Jaffna. And if things hadn�t changed he might have been forcibly recruited by the LTTE. But fate was kind to him and instead of dishing out death he was serving thali at the newest hot-spot in town last Sunday. Mr. Nimaltan is one of 48 youngsters from peninsula recruited by Jetwing Jaffna, more..

Apr 11 (CT) Responding to overwhelming publicity generated by social media highlighting the plight of two school children who were compelled to serenade passengers of public transport to raise money for their mother's heart surgery, Health Ministry has facilitated the surgery in a govt hospital. In the last few days images of the two children, in Somawathiya, serenading passengers were widely circulated in social media. One child, the daughter is in her A/L classes and the other, more..

Apr 11 (CT) National Police Commission (NPC) has approved 18 Superintendants of Police to be promoted to Senior Superintendants last week, Secretary to the Commission Ariyadasa Cooray said. The list was sent to the NPC by the Ministry of Law and Order. Superintendant of Police of the Special Investigations Unit of Police Headquarters Mewan Silva, who is among those promoted, has been promoted with retroactive effect from 1st December 2013. more..

Apr 11 (DN) Minister D.M. Swaminathan quelled rumours surrounding the tender for the 65,000 housing project in Jaffna as he affirmed that Arcelor Mittal had already been awarded the project. "There is no question about awarding the tender to another," he said. Cabinet in February this year approved the first phase of the housing project to build 65,000 houses for IDPs in the North and East. The houses currently under construction more..

Apr 11 (ST) Ipaidabribe.lk, the Sri Lanka version of a powerful watchdog website which operates in 15 countries, was promoted on Monday through a public awareness campaign conducted at the Fort railway station by many youth volunteers. Launched in Sri Lanka by Asanga Abeyagoonasekera last December, the website could be accessed in all three languages from www.ipaidabribe.lk. The promoters said the site has user friendly features to navigate and to report on bribery as well as more..

Apr 11 (CC) Australia�s next crop of national female talent have plied their trade across Sri Lanka in a seven-game tri-series against England and the host island nation. Playing six 50-over matches and a Twenty20 on the spin-friendly Test wickets of Sri Lanka, the Commonwealth Bank Shooting Stars � the national second XI side � claimed victory in five of the seven tour games with some future stars emerging with astonishing individual performances. Sydney Sixers WBBL star Ashleigh Gardner more..

Apr 11 (DN) Plans are underway to increase the current internet penetration from 21.8% to 50% in Sri Lanka. A 10% increase in internet penetration has the potential to drive a 1.2% in GDP, Minister Harin Fernando said. He made these views speaking at Asia's foremost information security conference Ground Zero Summit held in Colombo. The summit was organized by Indian Infosec Consortium. more..

Apr 11 (Island) Export Development Board (EDB) announced a Technical Training and Exposure Programme for Sri Lankan plastic industrialists, in Chennai, India from June 13 to 24. This tailor-made training and exposure programme will be held at the Central Institute of Plastic Engineering Technology (CIPET) in Chennai for the export-oriented plastic industrialists in Sri Lanka. It will cover mould/dye designing and tooling, advanced injection moulding processes etc. with 2-3 factory visits. more..

Apr 11 (ST) Will the Right to Information Bill (RIT) presented in parliament last month change the culture of the public service and the course of the people in future? This was a question raised by Executive Director of Verite Research Dr. Nishan de Mel addressing a meeting on issues dealing with new policies and its impact on society. Business associations are weak and act as lobby groups as they think this is what their role should be, he said adding that they are weak. more..

Apr 11 (Hindu) Land and housing are the two major issues that need to be addressed satisfactorily, say refugees who have returned to Sri Lanka�s North from their camps in Tamil Nadu and other parts of India. Only then, the say, can there be a large scale voluntary repatriation of refugees. Anjana Devi and Indira Gandhi, who returned to SL 12 years ago, say those who own land in the North should be given a financial more..

Apr 11 (Island) Homagama Magistrate on Friday further remanded the suspects taken into custody in connection with the abduction and disappearance of journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda till April 19. The suspects are Army Intelligence officers Lt. Cols/ Shammi Karunaratne and Probodha Siriwardena, Staff Sergeants Priyantha Rajapaksa and Subramanium, Sgt. Major Neranjan Upasena, Corporal Ravindra Rupasinghe, Lt. Chaminda Abeyratne, Sgts. Tharanga Gamage and more..

Apr 11 (DN) The High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, Y.K. Sinha declared open the Pathfinder Foundation�s Centre for Indo-Lanka Initiatives (CILI) at the Head Office of the Pathfinder Foundation (PF), located at Purasarana Building, Colombo 12. Associated with the opening ceremony was Milinda Moragoda, founder of the Pathfinder Foundation. Despite historical, cultural and religious relations that shaped the history of the island for over two millennia, lack of understanding on more..

Apr 11 (Island) Among the Iranians arrested in a recent joint Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB)-Navy operation off Dondra point are six men from one family, including 12-year-old boy. They are among ten Iranian crew of an Iranian owned trawler seized by the SLN after the PNB using decoys successfully negotiated to purchase 110 kilos of heroin with a street value of over USD 7.5 mn. more..

Apr 11 (DM) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe said that Sri Lanka should now go to Panama to find Sri Lankan owned money. There are media reports, that the govt is awaiting information on the alleged involvement of Sri Lankans in offshore financial dealings as revealed in the Panama Papers of the law firm Mossack Fonseca. �Now, we all have to go to Panama City to find whether there is Sri Lankan owned money. That revelation was also made by another Fonseca wasn�t it?� he asked. more..