Feb 5 (Island) President Maithripala Sirisena in his capacity as the Minister of National Integration and Reconciliation, with the concurrence of the Cabinet,� initiated action to establish 1,785 micro-enterprises in the Northern and Eastern Provinces under the� Enterprise Based Village Development Project, last week. Secretary, Ministry of National Integration and Reconciliation V.Sivagnanasothy said that objective of establishing micro-enterprises in the N&E was to improve the socio economic standards more..

Feb 5 (Island) A workshop was held at the Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade recently, to discuss strategic aspects for developing a national system which supports innovation and entrepreneurship in Srilanka. Minister Malik Samarawickrama spoke on the vision for Sri Lanka�s economy as it liberalizes to trade with regional partners. Ministers Susil Premajayantha and Sujeewa Senasinghe were also present at this event. Other participants at the workshop more..

Feb 5 (ST) Two Sri Lankans have been arrested as part of an investigation by Canadian police into a multimillion dollar fraud and money laundering operation. Sukanya Panchalingam and Balasubramaniam Shajeefkaran, a husband-and-wife pair between the ages 28 and 36, were taken from a home in Ajax, Ontario, where Toronto police found more than C$ 8 million worth of fraudulent cheques and stolen merchandise. more..

Feb 5 (TOI) Sherine Xavier realised that if she told the truth, she would face the wrath of the SL establishment. But the Jaffna-based activist-filmmaker never looked back and gradually cleared the hurdles placed in her path to release her 105-minute-long movie Muttruppulliyaa (Is it the full stop?) which evoked a tremendous response when it was screened for the first time in India at the Prasad Lab in the city recently. Based on true incidents, Muttruppulliyaa tells the story of a former more..

Feb 5 (SL) The govt and Global Tamil Forum (GTF), a powerful Tamil diaspora group based in London, are to work together to address the Tamil issue. Minister Mangala Samaraweera had talks with the President of the GTF, Father S. J. Emmanuel, in Geneva last week. Father Emmanuel said that he met Samaraweera and a SL delegation for about 45 minutes behind closed doors. �In all my meetings I have openly said that I do it as an act of critical and constructive collaboration by more..

Feb 5 (CT) An underworld bigwig namely Samayan (Aruna Udayantha) and four other accused were killed in Kalutara last week. Two prison officials were also among the deceased and some officials were critically injured while a prison guard had to undergo a leg amputation in a bid to save his life. It was around 8.15 in the morning when this horrid incident took place at Ethanamandala, while two prison buses more..

Feb 5 (Hindu) INS Darshak, hydrographic survey ship of Eastern Naval Command, sailed out of Visakhapatnam for a two-month long deployment for undertaking joint hydrographic surveys along with the SL Navy. The pioneer surveys will be conducted with SL Naval personnel embarked on board INS Darshak. During the course of survey, training of SL personnel will also be undertaken on advanced hydrographic practices. The ship will visit Colombo and Galle harbours and undertake several more..

Feb 5 (DM) According to the report issued by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, deforestation in Sri Lanka has decreased to 0.4 per cent during the past decade, Conservator General of Forests Anura Sathurusinghe said yesterday. Mr. Sathurusinghe told the Daily Mirror that the FAO report, issued every five years, has rated Sri Lanka as a country with less deforestation during the period of years 2000 � 2010. more..

Feb 5 (CT) �Puthukkudiyiruppu�land matter has been resolved. The land is to be returned in 3 stages the first stage on 4th March and the second and third stages in a few months. Commitments made should be honoured.��says Leader of the Opposition R. Sampanthan. Sending a letter to President, he said: �In view of possession being handed over at Kepepulavu � Pillaikudiyiruppu � The persons who were demonstrating against more..

Feb 5 (ST) With the SL�China Trade agreement close to be finalised, local manufacturers are vehemently protesting against certain agreements reached on tariff lines and trade, more favourable to China. An agreement was reached under SL�s Tariff Liberalisation Programme (TLP) to cover 90% of both tariff lines and trade value with 10% negative list and reach liberalisation of 90% within a 20 year-period. The negative impact of this agreement on the local manufacturing sector more..

Feb 5 (TN) The management of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is returning premier service aircraft to Sri Lanka.� The Airbus-330 was acquired on lease for premier service of PIA. The PIA has paid over $19 million to Sri Lankan authorities in terms of wet lease for this aircraft during span of six months. Stats revealed every flying-hour of Airbus-330 cost PIA over 8,000 dollars. Seat and load plan for London-bound flights did not work according to the plan.� more..

Feb 5 (ST) SriLankan Airlines this week began taking delivery of the first of six A320neo aircraft, an investment decision made by former airline executives though such a decision is not recorded in any of the annual reports of the airline during the Rajapaksa govt. SriLankan Airlines CEO Suren Ratwatte confirmed that the airline was compelled to take delivery of these aircraft due to the former management�s decisions. more..

Feb 5 (DC) Citing the report of UN Human Rights Commissioner� Zeid Raad Al Hussein accusing Sri Lanka of failing to comply with the commission�s resolutions for hybrid mechanism to probe the war crimes and return of army occupied lands to Tamils, PMK youth wing leader Anbumani Ramadoss on Saturday asked the Union govt to take the issue to the UN security council to ensure justice for Tamils. The high commissioner had stated that the island govt is very slow in implementing more..

Feb 5 (Reuters) Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the IMF, will not be visiting Sri Lanka this month as she had been tentatively scheduled to. �Unfortunately, due to an unforeseen change in her schedule, she will not be able to visit the country at that time. She is looking into the possibility of visiting Sri Lanka in the near future,� IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said. A visiting IMF mission is in Colombo to review progress of a $1.5 billion loan approved in the middle of last year. more..

Feb 5 (ST) Govt leaders, it appears, are taking turns to contradict each other�s statements on matters of official policy. Last Wednesday, there were two such occasions. Cabinet spokesperson Rajitha Senaratne re-iterated that there would be a new Constitution for SL. He said a referendum would also be held to win the approval of the people. However, Minister Chandima Weerakody, uttered different words more..

Mar 5 (Island) It is now nine years since Sri Lanka began its pilgrimage to Geneva to attend the annual sessions of the UNHRC. For the first six years, it was all confrontational with Rajapaksa govt taking aggressive positions against UNHRC resolutions and trying in vain to mobilize votes among the 47 members of the Council to oppose resolutions sponsored by western countries. It has been all conciliatory under Sirisena-Wickremasinghe govt that took office after the defeat of more..

Mar 5 (Island) What�s the difference between this govt and the previous one?� Ask some random person on the street and the most likely answer would be nothing.� That�s a perception of felt benefits.� In fact some might even say this lot is worse and if pushed might explain, they said they would be different and that means they wanted us to hold them to higher standards. �Put the question to a Sinhalese flagging reconciliation and worse is what you are likely to get.� more..

Mar 5 (Island) Jeremy Liyanage is a SL of mixed Sinhala-Burgher ancestry whose family moved to Australia when he was 7 years old. He has been deeply involved in�a social service project�called�Bridging Lanka�in Mannar Island since the years 2009/10. As a spin-off from this work, he and several colleagues were in SL�in July 2010 in a venture supported by International Alert when they received an invitation to join more..

Mar 5 (ST) The row between SriLankan Airlines� management and its Pilots Guild continues. SriLankan Chairman Ajith Dias has told the Guild that its members will face disciplinary action if they resorted to any form of industrial action. He claimed that a Collective Agreement between the management and the Guild signed on Sept 12 2014 forbade such activity. In a three-page letter he has quoted different clauses from the agreement more..

Mar 5 (Island) French Agency For Development (FAD), through the aegis of French Embassy convened Focus 1 � Transport in the Global Sustainable City, last week. Theme for discussion included Megapolis development with emphasis on city transport and its integration to ease and solve traffic snarls. Concentration on city transport systems and the waste factor of physical stress and loss in manhours were intensely debated more..

Mar 5 (Island) The procurement of a controversial Russian-made Trastuzumab biosimilar to treat patients with metastatic (spread) breast cancer figured in last week�s complaint the Joint Opposition lodged with the Bribery Commission and CID against the backdrop of consultant clinical oncologists frowning on administering a "nondescript drug with questions lingering over its safety and efficacy", industry officials said. more..

Mar 5 (Hindu) A fortnight ago, Asela Gunaratne slammed a pacy 84 against Australia, steering SL to a remarkable victory in the T20 series. His innings made headlines here, but the series win was not the only cricket news. Around the same time, senior Buddhist monks called for a ban on the country�s big matches, pointing to the violence and alcoholism that they see as its spin-offs. Given the influence that Buddhist clergy more..

Mar 5 (SO) A committee comprising officials from several govt agencies are currently in discussions to make timely & needed recommendations to amend the Criminal Law in SL. Committee will also look at making recommendations to amend the Prevention of Crimes Ordinance which has remained unchanged for the past 90 years. Recommendations by the committee will look at ensuring better surveillance of criminals more..

Mar 5 (CT) Karupaiya Wappu aka Balan aka Thel Bala was a godfather of Colombo underworld. However, his story is now history. It is different from the stories of the other underworld leaders. Thel Bala died due to natural causes at Apollo Hospital in India. Sixty-year-old Thel Bala died of complications related to a liver surgery. He was in India for about 20 years for fear of being arrested by the Police Narcotics Bureau. more..

Mar 5 (CT) The attack on the vehicle of the CEO of SAITM Sameera Senarathna has been exposed as a drama produced by himself. Police have found out that he had not been in the vehicle at the time it was shot at a lonely place along Chandrika Kumaratunga Mawatha. The drama has been scripted by former member of the Kaduwela Urban Council Lakmal Vilathgamuwa who is a friend of Sameera Senarathna. more..

Mar 5 (PSL) Presiden says a new initiative through a new strategy will be implemented for the development of the Northern Province. President further said he has given instructions to all Ministers to visit the Northern Province in every month or every two months to review the progress of the development works of the respective ministries and said that he has also given instructions to present a time frame in this regard to the Cabinet. more..

Mar 5 (SL) The govt may seek support to dilute a controversial clause in a resolution which was passed in 2015, when a follow-up resolution on Sri Lanka is presented to the UNHRC during the ongoing session in Geneva. Govt sources said that discussions will be held to get the support of UNHRC members to bring down the pressure to implement the clause in Resolution 30/1 which calls for the participation of Commonwealth and more..

Mar 6 (Island) Doctors of medicine and would be medical doctors are featured much in print and electronic media these days with the SAITM issue discussed, opined on and even instigating countless road protests and university gates plastered with angry boards with slogans in red. President will give the final ruling on the issue once the commission he appointed to study and report on the matter of the continuance or otherwise of the private medical college at Malabe advises him. more..

Mar 6 (CT) The clock has already started ticking for Sri Lanka Muslim Congress. The lava has bursted from the already burning mountain. SLMC is breaking apart. Two significant persons have already waged a war against SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem. Basheer Cegu Dawood, then chairman of the party in an interview, had told that the party leader is caught between too many scandals and not capable of being leader to the party of which constitution is based on Quran and Hadith. more..

Mar 6 (SO) The well orchestrated Chicago type attack on Monday morning on the Black Maria transporting prisoners from the Kalutara Prison to the Kaduwela Magistrate�s Court killing five prisoners, including the notorious gang leader Aruna Udayashantha Pathirana alias Samayan and two prison guards providing security to them, once again raised serious concerns about the protection of the prisoners and about more..

Mar 5 (SO) Ven Omalpe Sobitha Thera, oops sorry, Ven Doctor Omalpe Sobitha Thera stepped down recently from his position as head of the JHU and left it to younger members to lead the Party. Patali Champika R will continue as General Secretary while Sobitha Thera and Ratana Thera will serve on a special advisory committee. All this is well and good; it�s the business of the JHU and none of ours. But, what the ex head of the JHU pronounced recently should be our collective business. more..

Mar 5 (SL) A triple barrel headline that caught our eye last week was: MR fires billion-dollar question to govt.: What have you done with your massive loans in years? It was not a billion dollar question having being asked repeatedly and answered by the govt even though the loans from China taken by him ran into billions of dollars. The billion-dollar question which the former President Rajapaksa, now MP for Kurunegala, asked while unveiling a golden fence at Nandaramaya temple in Battaramulla more..

Mar 6 (CT) Ceylon Today interviewed the General Secretary of the GMOA Dr. Naveen de Soysa regarding issues about thee SAITM. He insisted that the govt should gazette, the minimum standards for medical education in Sri Lanka, Health Minister accepting the SLMC Report on SAITM and inform the Higher Education Ministry that the SAITM was not in compliance with the SLMC standards, stop recruitments and nationalize SAITM. more..

Mar 6 (ST) Akin to the fabled (and damned) Scarlet Pimpernel of Baroness Orczy fame, one is constrained to search high and low for Sri Lanka�s elusive Witness Protection Authority. In fact, advocates in this country may be forgiven for indulging in the ditty �we seek (it) here, we seek (it) there, is (it) in heaven or is (it) in hell�?� as they look for this (hopefully not) damned body in terms of its actual performance. This is a question that comes to the fore given the singular absence of more..

Mar 6 (ST) Accidents happen in the best of families. So do mistakes. In the case of the world�s film capital, Hollywood, it tripped on its own red carpet which it had rolled out to greet the night of a thousand stars last Sunday but, amid many a blush, still managed to call for a retake, identified the culprit who caused the �envelope malfunction� which led to �La La Land� being declared the best picture of the year instead of �Moonlight, and took the necessary action to set things straight more..

Mar 6 (CT) The lull following Brexit and US Presidential elections in the regular arrival of international meddlers would appear to be over. During the last two weeks, a galaxy of parliamentarians and officials were in Colombo. A bipartisan delegation from the United States House of Representatives, Indian Foreign Secretary Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, a group of senior Chinese Communist Party officials with the Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister and a group of more..

Mar 6 (Island) President Maithripala Sirisena�s election manifesto stated: "I will not touch any Constitutional Articles that could be changed only with the approval of a referendum ... Instead of the present autocratic Executive Presidential System I will introduce a Constitutional structure with an Executive that is allied to the Parliament through the Cabinet". Following his election the President�s 100 Day programme stated: "�process will begin of abolishing the authoritative executive more..

Mar 6 (Roar) The introduction of the Right to Information Act is considered a transformation of the character of Sri Lanka�s govt. It was a ritual of small talk to comment on one�s recent encounter with a government servant and to follow it with the phrase the Kafkaesque � an allusion to the impenetrable, sadistic bureaucracy found in the works of the Czech-born German writer, Franz Kafka. Seemingly, with the new Act, we have a fresh-faced govt, more..

Mar 6 (Island) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) President Thilanga Sumathipala revealed that captain Angelo Mathews has been spending sleepless nights for the last 11 days. Is Mathews worrying about whether Bangladesh will record their maiden Test win over Sri Lanka? Not exactly. SLC President went onto reveal that Angelo had become a dad. The captain�s wife had given birth to a boy, the couple�s first child 11 days ago. Mathews said that the baby is well and will be christened shortly. more..