Mar 23 (CT) Teachers� Unions say that literacy among teachers, with regard to sexual education and teaching it is relatively low and that awareness programmes are required in order to address the issue. While expressing views regarding a recent incident where a girl studying in a school in the Ganemulla-Gampaha area, had been allegedly harassed in her studies by school staff and the principal, owing to her mother being an HIV more..

Mar 23 (CT) Minister Arjuna Ranatunga said that the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) had incurred a loss of Rs 5.46 billion through kerosene sales last year. He claimed that the State had suffered such a staggering loss due to the wanton misuse of the kerosene subsidy that was provided by the Govt. He pointed out that although in parallel to the country�s development the use of kerosene should decline and when compared more..

Mar 23 (PHC) The High Commission of Pakistan and the Pakistani community based in Sri Lanka celebrated the 78th National Day of Pakistan with traditional fervour and resolve to make Pakistan a strong, vibrant, progressive and democratic welfare state. The National Day of Pakistan is celebrated every year on the 23rd March to commemorate the outstanding achievement of the Muslims of Sub-Continent more..

Mar 23 (Island) Amendments to the Voluntary Social Service Organisations (registration and supervision) Act, which proposed to give the NGO Secretariat powers that were not even enjoyed by law enforcement agencies, would only be gazetted after an in-depth consultation with representatives from the civil society, Minister Mano Ganesan said. "I am holding it back until I have a fair discussion with civil society on April 10. more..

Mar 23 (EN) A move to topple PM Ranil Wickremesinghe was a blessing and would allow for a purge within the coalition govt, Minister Gamini Jayawickrema Perera said. He said the no-confidence motion would help identify those who are working against Wickremesinghe from within the govt and clear the way for their removal. JO led by former prez Rajapaksa submitted the no-trust move which is to be taken up for debate on April 4. more..

Mar 23 (DM) The real target of the No-confidence motion submitted by the Joint Opposition was not the PM Ranil Wickremesinghe but the President Maithripala Sirisena and the Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, Minister Arjuna Ranatunga said yesterday. He said more details would be revealed soon and underscored the fact that the UNP and the PM were in a better position right now than in the aftermath of the LG polls. more..

Mar 23 (DM) The country would be able to witness a large-scale re-organization of the UNP before May this year, State Minister Ruwan Wijewardene said. He made this comment at a ceremony held to mark the 66th death anniversary of the late PM D S Senanayake in Colombo last evening. �The committee appointed to look into the reorganization of the party had recommended that a large-scale reorganization process was more..

Mar 23 (Island) SL Customs yesterday thwarted an attempt by two Sri Lankans to smuggle into the country a consignment of contraband cigarettes from Dubai at the BIA. The suspects are residents of Balapitiya and Ambalangoda. They were arrested when they tried to leave the airport through the green channel meant for passengers who have nothing to declare. Under interrogation, the suspects revealed that they proceeded to Dubail in search of employment and as they failed to find jobs th more..

Mar 23 (FT) Fortunately for me, W.A. Wijewardena wrote an article on Dhammika Perera�s presentation at the Colombo School of Business and Management on �My entrepreneurship mind and leadership heart�. If not for that article, I would not have known aboutcomments on green cars made in the presentation and might not have brought these aspects to Daily FT readership. According to the article, Perera has said that one needs to (a) have an inquisitive mind (b) adopt a scientific more..

Mar 23 (CT) During the Cabinet press briefing on Tuesday, Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne revealed that investigations were underway into the alleged involvement of a Parliamentarian and a Ministry Secretary in the unrest in Kandy this month. This follows the arrest of four Pradeshiya Sabha members, three from the Joint Opposition (JO) and one from the SLPP who had allegedly led the mob violence in the hill capital. The suspects, if found guilty, should be duly punished. more..

Mar 23 (CT) Army Commander Lt Gen Mahesh Senanayake said that soldiers had cracked skulls and split ears during operations to quell communal unrest in the Kandy District recently. He said that all this happened within the framework of operational duty and that he is not perturbed by it. 'All communities are with (support) the Army. I know that skulls were cracked, that ears were split (blows on the ear), but this doesn�t bother me. I will not punish anyone. more..

Mar 23 (CT) Sudath Chandrasekara who has served as Ranil Wickremesinghe�s Private Secretary and has been his right hand man for 33 years has tendered his resignation after being relegated to Special Assistant at Sirikotha. Chandrasekera�s letter, dated March 19, 2018, mentions numerous services rendered to party and leader as well as a long list of complaints. Chandrasekara, a Police Sub Inspector at more..

Mar 23 (NR) A suspect has been arrested at the Katunayake International Airport in possession of a stock of gold jewellery worth over 13 million rupees. NewsRadio Airport Correspondent said the stock of jewellery had been smuggled into the island by a passenger who arrived from Singapore early this morning. Reports state the stock of jewellery weighs 2kg and 366g. The 32 year old suspect is a resident of Batticaloa. Further investigations are being carried out by the Airport Customs. more..

Mar 23 (NR) University Executive Officers are continuing their token strike for the second consecutive day today. Secretary of the Organization Dayal Abhayasinghe said the decision was made in objection the move by the Chairman of the UGC to postpone a discussion scheduled for the 9th of March in 2018 without any reasoning and rescheduling. He said the Executive Board decided to refrain from contributing to activities pertaining to this month�s salary allocations and payments. more..

Mar 23 (DM) JO MP Vasudewa Nanayakkara today asked in parliament whether Minister, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka could attend parliament proceedings and functions held in parliament wearing the army uniform. Chief Govt Whip Gayantha Karunathilaka said the minister could attend public functions in army uniform but there was an accepted criteria when it came to the attire worn when attending Parliament. more..

Mar 23 (NR) Colombo High Court today sentenced a principal to five-years rigorous imprisonment for soliciting a bribe of 150,000 rupees to admit a student to a school in Matale. The Court ruled, the suspect, a former school principal, guilty on all four counts. Accordingly the court sentenced the suspect for 5 years, for each charge. However the court pronounced that the former principal can serve her 20-year sentence concurrently and complete it in five years. more..

Mar 23 (PTI) The state-run Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) has delivered an advanced offshore patrol vessel to the Sri Lankan Navy. The defence ministry here said the vessel will be the largest and the most advanced ship in the Sri Lankan Navy fleet. "This state-of-the-art and largest ship in the Sri Lanka Naval fleet will help meet the increasing requirement of the Sri Lanka Navy for undertaking policing and patrolling of its vast Exclusive Economic Zone," said Rear Admiral (Rtd) Shekhar Mital more..

Mar 23 (AD) Supreme Court has ordered the Attorney General to examine the recent statement made by Deputy Minister Ranjan Ramanayake and inform whether he can be charged for contempt of court. The two cases filed by Ven. Magalkande Sudantha Thera and retired Air Force officer Sunil Perera accusing Ramanayake of contempt were taken up before a three-member judge bench comprising more..

Mar 23 (Island) Saman Dissanayaka, who was appointed as the acting secretary of the National Police Commission (NPC) on Wednesday, would continue to function in that capacity, the NPC, which met yesterday decided. The NCP has not decided on who will replace Ariyadasa Cooray after he was removed abruptly from his position as Secretary to the Commission on Tuesday. NPC Spokesperson P. D. Liyanaarachchi said that the selection of the next secretary would be a lengthy process more..

Mar 23 (EN) Sri Lankan bourse is to suspend trading in seven listed companies from 2 April 2018 for not filing interim financial statements and annual reports. A Colombo Stock Exchange statement said the firm are Lanka Cement, PC House, PC Pharma, Ceylon & Foreign Trades, Standard Capital, Adam Investments and Adam Capital. They have been on a CSE watch list for delays in submitting accounts and trading in their shares would be suspended unless they file results by 29 Match 2018, more..

Mar 23 (PSL) Pakistan Republic Day celebrations were held in Islamabad, today on a grand scale with SL President Maithripala Sirisena attending the celebrations as the Chief Guest. President was warmly received by the PM of Pakistan, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi when he arrived at the venue. Later, the President was escorted to the VVIP Pavilion and the Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain, President Maithripala Sirisena, more..

Mar 23 (EN) Sri Lanka�s investment promotion agency said it is trying to attract suppliers of partners of existing investors in the island under a new strategy that has a more focused approach. Board of Investment said it has set up a new reinvestment team which has identified several activities that will encourage reinvestment by existing investors. �This would include communicating with companies which are known to be pleased with investing in Sri Lanka as well as some of the largest investors more..

Mar 23 (EN) Sri Lanka's Industrial Technology Institute has developed nanotechnology based products to keep fruits fresh and cut post-harvest losses with the help of Canadian funding, the country's embassy in Colombo said. "The research scientists utilizing cutting-edge nanotechnology have successfully developed two new products to extend and optimize the use of hexanal for pre- and post-harvest applications to commercial fruits, such as bananas, papayas and citrus," more..

Mar 23 (Roar) History teaches us of the accomplishments of past politicians, but rarely do we catch a glimpse into the private lives and hobbies of these men and women�not unless we pick up a bulky biography and spend time patiently perusing the pages! While many of our past politicians are known for laying the foundation for the nation state that came to be known as Sri Lanka, we know little of what they did to rest and relax more..

Mar 23 (NR) SLPP councillor Priyantha Godagama has been elected as the new Mayor of the Galle Municipal Council. Despite the UNP obtaining a majority during the recently concluded Local Authority Elections, SLPP Councillor Godagama received the support of 20 members during a secret ballot called by the Galle Municipal Council Commissioner to elect a new Mayor. Meanwhile the candidate named by the UNP obtained only 11 votes during the Mayoral election. more..

Mar 23 (NR) JVP says the open economy concept introduced in 1978, has failed the country. Speaking during the debate on Active Liability Management Bill in Parliament, MP Sunil Handunneththi said at present the country�s economy is strained, and the govts are forced to borrow more loans to settle existing ones. He stressed in 2019, country has to settle an amount of 4.2 trillion or 4200 billion rupees worth of loans. He noted the loan installments are thrice the amount of the country�s GDP. more..

Mar 23 (DM) The prices of imported vehicles were likely to increase by at least 9% because of the increase in the exchange rate of Japanese Yen, Sterling Pound, Australian and US dollars, Vehicle Importers Association of Sri Lanka (VIASL) said today. VIASL Chairman Ranjan Peiris said the selling rate of a Japanese Yen had increased up to Rs.1.50 from Rs.1.37. �Small vehicles such as Suzuki Wagon R and more..

Mar 23 (AD) Dayan Lanza of the SLPP has been elected as the Mayor of the Negombo Municipal Council, despite the UNP claiming a victory at the council in the recent Local Authorities Election. Lanza, who is the brother of UPFA Gampaha District MP Nimal Lanza, received the votes of 25 councilors in an open ballot today while the UNP�s Royce Vijitha Fernando obtained 19 votes. The UNP won the Negombo Municipal Council at the 2018 Local Authorities Election after claiming 19 seats. more..

Mar 23 (AD) The Active Liability Management Bill was passed in parliament with amendments today (23). Earlier, the Parliament was adjourned for 10 minutes due to a technical failure during voting on the Active Liability Management Bill. Govt postponed the second reading debate of the Active Liability Management Bill which was scheduled for debate yesterday. Accordingly, the Bill was taken up for debate today at the parliament. Govt presented the Active Liability Management Bill for more..

Mar 23 (Island) Three Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown aetiology (CKDu) research teams funded by the National Research Council (NRC) said the existing data in the country were not sufficient to prove whether glyphosate was linked to the increaseing incidence of CKDu. Prof. Rohana Chandrajith of Uni of Peradeniya said that none of the research conducted so far had provided clear evidence to prove such a link. more..

Mar 24 (DN) The World TB Day which is held annually on March 24 is intended to promote awareness, and knowledge of the seriousness of the disease and to motivate for action to be taken against TB worldwide. 135 years ago after discovery of the kochs bacillus, TB still remains an epidemic in much of the world today despite the effective cures which have being made available for decades. This lethal killer of human beings in history still prevails despite the many scientific breakthrough. more..

Mar 24 (CT) The massive amounts being given to agencies critical of Govt were part and parcel of a concerted attack against us by those determined to prevent the Rajapaksa Govt from eliminating terrorism on our soil. Sadly this was led by the British Govt which had a year previously, in 2006, tried to bring a resolution against us in Geneva. The resolution had not been taken up then, but it was tabled, which meant it hung over us like the sword of Damocles. more..

Mar 24 (SO) Move out expired, outdated and unhygienic foods with their trail of tummy aches and diarrhoea. Move in imported apples, grapes and oranges minus their original vitamin C and laced with pesticides. The latter, to quote the latest findings by the Govt Analyst Department, lead to much more dangerous health consequences than a mere puffy stomach caused by expired unhygienic food. Currently, trending as the hottest news more..

Mar 24 (DN) The recent communal clashes in Ampara and areas of the Kandy district did have harsh echoes in Geneva at the current sessions of the UNHRC, where US and UK raised related matters. The US expressed concern on ongoing reports of human rights violations and abuses by members of the security services, and recent attacks targeting members of religious minority communities in SL. The UK expressed serious concern about inter-communal violence and hate speech more..

Mar 24 (CT) In the speech made by President Sirisena in 2015 addressing the UN Sustainable Development Goals Conference, among other things, he said: �Govt of Sri Lanka fully supports the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals and targets that have been adopted by this Assembly. In that respect, we will work towards the provision of basic needs of the people, progressive alleviation of poverty, elimination of all forms of more..

Mar 24 (CT) A reputed Tamil Canadian lawyer, human rights activist and currently MP representing his constituency Scarborough, Toronto in the House of Commons, Gary Anandasangaree speaks to Ceylon Today on the lack of interest shown by the SL Govt in implementing the UN resolution and constitutional reforms. �Inaction by the Government to form a mechanism to address this issue, and more..

Mar 24 (CT) Media reported that temporary restriction to access social media site Facebook was lifted last week, following the instruction of President Sirisena. This instruction was made following a detailed assessment of the decisions taken during the meeting between the Secretary to the President and the representatives from Facebook, held at the presidential secretariat. The Govt recently took steps to restrict access to some social media platforms temporarily, in order to curtail the attempts to more..

Mar 24 (Island) Former President and current MP Mahinda Rajapaksa was seen, the other day, in the exalted company of a group of Joint Opposition (JO) MPs, handing over the much-talked-about motion of no confidence against PM Ranil Wickremesinghe to Speaker Karu Jayasuriya. It was a mistake for Rajapaksa to get directly involved in that motion as the JO doesn�t seem to be in a position to ensure its passage in Parliament. He seems unable to overcome the propensity for adventurism. more..