Mar 30 (NR) The govt has refuted statements that the display of pandols across the island during the Vesak and Poson poya days has been banned. Minister of Buddha Sasana Gamini Jayawickrama Perera said certain persons are spreading false rumours with the intention of misleading the public. He requested the public to refrain from displaying pandols only on the Vesak and Poson poya days so as to give priority to more..

Mar 30 (PSL) President Sirisena emphasized the need of Line Ministries and Local Authorities working together in consensual as well as friendly manner. If there is dispute occurred regarding the rights and privileges between these two institutions, the people who benefit through these institutions will be affected, Prez further said. Prez made these remarks participating in a programme held at Polonnaruwa Royal College, today to enhance educational excellence of Polonnaruwa more..

Mar 30 (CB) Sri Lanka Women had been whitewashed in the ODIs and also lost the first T20I. The only option left for them was to up their game and keep the three-match series alive and they did just that with a seven-wicket win over Pakistan to level series 1-1 in Colombo on Friday (30) with one to play. Shashikala Siriwardene's career-best figures ensured Pakistan were restricted to a below-par total and small contributions from the batters took them over the line. more..

Mar 30 (PSL) President Maithripala Sirisena has given instructions to the relevant authorities to prepare a system to issue licenses to excavate sand and stones needed for the construction industry, at one place. President has given these instructions participating in a meeting held at Prez Secretariat yesterday, regarding the challenges faced by the construction industry and the proposed solutions for these issues. more..

Mar 30 (AD) The Ceylon Teachers� Union (CTU) says that shifting the Labour Day holiday from May 1 to May 7 is a deprivation of the privileges of workers. CTU Secretary Joseph Stalin said that no other Buddhist country in the world has so far cancelled the commemoration of May Day. The Cabinet this week decided to postpone the rallies and meetings from May 1 to May 7 taking into the consideration of the Vesak week, which coincides with the International Workers� Day. more..

Mar 30 (NR) General Secretary of the UNP Minister Kabir Hashim says the govt will forge ahead while addressing all concerns. Speaking to media in Kegalle the Minister said leaders of the United National Front are continuing discussions in this regard. Minister Hashim added SLFP Ministers who speak highly are those who were given the role as charity. Minister claimed those elected were rejected by the people and were sent home, and are today in positions because of the UNP. more..

Mar 30 (SL) The UNDP together with the Ministry of Disaster Management, Ministry of Education, Red Cross, SL Navy and School development societies, will design, implement and coordinate a school simulation programme in five selected schools affected by the Tsunami in 2004 � starting with Galle on 03 April 2018 at the Vidyaloka Madya Maha Vidyalaya. School Preparedness programme is a full operational drill to test more..

Mar 31 (CT) The Ceylonese State Council Election of 1931 allowed all Sri Lankan citizens to participate in the democratic process through universal suffrage. Since then, Sri Lankan women has had the constitutional freedom and right to vote and participate in political activities and the country even went on to elect the world�s first female Prime Minister. Despite the statutory freedom, women�s participation in Sri Lankan politics has been one of the lowest in South Asia. more..

Mar 31 (CT) Oh what a country Sri Lanka is. On the surface everything seems Hunky Dory. Scratch the surface if you will and Lo and behold the worst is in plain sight. Warts, burns and scars. God bestowed a natural bounty and asked the simplistic peasants to enjoy it. They became thespians over time. Hark back to the recent history of this nation. Vile as any can be. Led by politicians whose only focus is to gain and retain power, they appealed to the basest instincts of man. more..

Mar 31 (Roar) Dragonflies are no strangers to us. Those colourful long-bodied insects can be found in home gardens�especially those with ponds or fountains�and in the wild near lakes, river, streams, and other bodies of water. However, there is another closely related group of insects known as damselflies, which are often misidentified as dragonflies, due to their closely similar features, behaviour, and habitat preference. more..

Mar 31 (CT) The way things are moving, it is very clear that as a country we almost do not have a future in whatever we try to do. It is mainly because our country does not have rational thinkers where they are needed the most. SL politics is no more a people, oriented activity as politicians have their own priorities and the intelligentsia of the nation has been reduced to a pathetic non-entity and a convenient front for politicians. The inevitable result is the continuous degradation more..

Mar 31 (CT) Litigation is expensive anywhere in the world due to complexity and want of definitions, targets, and to be within rules not familiar with the citizen expected to know the law with the adage that Ignorance of the Law is no excuse/defence. In the west legal education and legal aid is given priority to avoid the citizen rising against the establishment on law, law enforcement laws delays impartiality of the judicial system and Judges in resolving their criminal and civil disputes more..

Mar 31 (DN) In February, one-and-a-half years after Parliament passed the legislation to do so, President Sirisena appointed commissioners to the Office of Missing Persons (OMP). The OMP was the first pillar of the unity govt�s reconciliation agenda. Official estimates put the number of disappeared people in Sri Lanka at around 20,000. Many went missing during the final stages of the war in 2009 and more..

Mar 31 (DN) The day that world's greatest miscarriage in justice was carried out when every Christian can be guilty of nailing him on the cross. He sacrificed his dear life to redeem the world from sin and strife. In his life of thirty-three beautiful years, he lived and preached the Word of God among his sheep. Sheep that were the humble believing Christians from all walks of life who followed him until he reached the Mount of Olives and let him go up to pray. more..

Mar 31 (DN) We are in the season of Easter - the season of new life. As Christians we know that Easter is the foundation of our faith. For our meditation on Easter, I would like to ask you three questions. What is Easter? How do we understand Easter? And what is the meaning of Easter for us today? What is Easter? We know that after the death of Jesus his disciples wee frightened and stayed in the upper room. According to the gospel stories some of the disciples went back to more..

Mar 31 (Island) Political instability and lawlessness are joined at the hip. With the incumbent govt struggling for survival without caring a tinker�s cuss about the affairs of the state, conditions have come to prevail for uncertainty and instability to take root. The failure on the part of the police and the yahapalana administration to quell the Teldeniya ethnic violence before it engulfed adjacent areas was a clear manifestation of lawlessness setting in slowly but steadily. more..

Mar 31 (Island) The practice of the Buddha's teaching is most commonly depicted by the image of a journey, the eight factors of the Noble Eightfold Path constituting the royal roadway along which the disciple must travel. The Buddhist scriptures, however, illustrate the quest for liberation in a variety of other ways, each of which throws a different spotlight on the nature of the practice. Although the alternative formulations inevitably draw upon the same basic set of mental factors as more..

Mar 31 (DM) On a Bak Full Moon day, in the fifth year of his enlightenment, the Buddha perceived a dispute brewing between the two Naga Communities in Northern Lanka led by two Kings Chulodara and Mahodara. Buddhism with a message of Peace for all humankind�the Buddha, preached his doctrine to the warring parties at Nagadeepa on his second visit to this land. more..

Mar 31 (Island) Glyphosate (G) is a herbicide widely used in many countries but its use is banned in some others. However, it is a very effective broad spectrum weed killer and its use worldwide has increased from 56 million kg in 1994, to 825 million kg in 2014 indicating its effectiveness as a herbicide. Its advantage as against many other weed killers is that it is not absorbed via the roots, being adsorbed to soil colloidal complex forming insoluble complexes which tend to remain more..

Mar 31 (Island) UNHRC session this month in Geneva succeeded in punching through to the news pages, despite the overwhelming dominance of stories about the no-confidence motion. However, there was no acknowledgement of the two most important aspects. First was from the govt delegation or more correctly the discourse of the govt team. Foreign Minister Marapana whose views are known to be a huge improvement on those of Minister Mangala Samaraweera, more..

Mar 31 (Island) Come Wednesday night, politics will take a whole new narrative in the post-No Confidence action. The figuring of parliament certainly shows a success for Ranil Wickremesinghe, but our politics is so corrupt that even the best figures could be twisted by the powers of politics and money. Let�s not forget that the defeat of Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike�s govt was enabled by the vote of a member who had a flat tyre more..

Mar 31 (CT) Celebration of Easter would be a memorable one this year for all the Racing Patrons, Horse owners, trainers and jockeys, in the hills of Nuwara Eliya at the Royal Turf Club Racecourse. The Joy of Easter will be enjoyed alongside Horse Racing in Nuwara Eliya on Sunday (1 April) with four races. To make the occasion even more joyful Chandani Hettiarachchi along with her troupe would be entertaining the audience at the RTC Easter Sunday Racing Bonanza. more..

Mar 31 (CT) Hassan Esufally aims to become the first Sri Lankan in history to complete one of the world�s most gruelling marathon feats - running a full marathon in all seven continents of the world. Achieving this feat will propel him into a unique and exclusive club of the world�s greatest marathon runners - the 7 Continents Marathon Club. "My goal is to become the first SL to complete a full marathon in each of the seven continents by running in the world�s hardest & most exclusive marathons� more..

Mar 31 (ST) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) President Thilanga Sumathipala has all the right to beat the drums, crash the cymbals and cry out yippee. Definitely it was a billion-rupee effort. Besides, Sumathipala saw to that, there was more than one cricket head in Nidahas Trophy pot pouri: People who could vote along with him during an ICC battle. But, seemingly, there were no top-level cricket dignitaries in attendance from BCCI. more..

Mar 31 (FT) Havelock City, premier integrated mixed-use development project in SL, conducted the ground-breaking ceremony for its Commercial Development recently. On-time completion of the piling works paved way to commence construction of the super structure, which will be completed by 2021. The construction contract was awarded to China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd., which has its global footprint in over 100 countries. Havelock City, brain child of S.P. Tao, more..

Mar 31 (Island) The highly anticipated Inter-Provincial cricket tournament got underway yesterday at Suriyawewa and Katunayake. Middle-order batsman Roshen Silva�s purple patch with the bat continued as he smashed an unbeaten 146 for Galle against Colombo at Suriyawewa. After electing to bat first, Galle were in a spot of bother as they slumped to 22 for four. But Roshen, who was the Player of the Series during the recently concluded Test series in Bangladesh, took his team more..

Mar 31 (DN) A Fundamental Rights petition filed by former Ambassador to Russia Udayanga Weeratunga seeking an Interim Order to recall the warrant issued for his arrest by Colombo Fort Magistrate was fixed for support on May 11 by the Supreme Court. SC Bench comprised Justice Vijith Malalgoda and Justice Murdu Fernando. On Oct 20 last year, Colombo Fort Magistrate had issued a warrant written in English through the Interpol more..

Mar 31 (Island) SL men�s National team will take on the challenge of strong Indonesia in their Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Zone Group-II Relegation Play-off, to be held on April 7 and 8 at the SL Tennis Association clay courts, Colombo. The Davis Cup, which is considered the annual World Cup of international men�s tennis, is sponsored by BNP Paribas and is conducted by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The losing side in this tie will be demoted to zonal Group-III in 2019. more..

Mar 31 (FT) The entire Board of Directors of SriLankan Airlines has formally resigned on Thursday, Daily FT learns. Previously there were reports regarding resignation yet the Board functioned. It is learnt that the formal stepping down was to facilitate the reconstitution of the national carrier�s Board. Veteran banker and former Ministry Secretary Ranjith Fernando�s name is speculated to be the new Chairman. The existing Board which resigned on Thursday comprised more..

Mar 31 (FT) In a thought-provoking speech, a veteran minister pointed out it was high time that SL began to think of management as an absolutely vital top level input for the future economic growth, insisting SL politics seemed to be facing a management problem these days. �Govts must learn to perform. They have no time to waste on other silly sideshows. I firmly believe that we must have a middle class, like you, more..

Mar 31 (FT) Lanka Sathosa has taken initiatives to provide essential commodities to the people at relief rates during the New Year season. Lanka Sathosa Chief Executive Officer Mohammed Rizwan Hameed Faaaz told the media the consumers could purchase the essential items at relief rates from about 400 outlets located island wide. In addition, mobile trucks would be selling these commodities at selected populated places such as near railway stations and at bus stands next week. more..

Mar 31 (PHC) High Commission of Pakistan in SL organized a reception in connection with the celebrations of 78th National Day of Pakistan at Galadari hotel, Colombo on 29th March. Minister Daya Gamage was the chief guest on the occasion. In his welcome address, the High Commissioner, Dr. Shahid Hashmat shed light on the historic Pakistan Resolution, passed on 23rd March 1940 and eulogized the sacrifices and political struggle by the Muslims of Sub-Continent due to which more..

Mar 31 (DM) Dialog Axiata, has selected new media platform, Roar, insurance broker, InsureMe and integrated healthcare platform MyDoctor.lk as its first phase of investments. Digital Innovation Fund managed by BOV Capital, marks a definitive shift to foster startups and build further on the business capabilities of digital technology and talent within the country. Rs.2.3 billion Digital Innovation Fund was debuted by Malaysian more..

Mar 31 (DM) Number of applications made by Sri Lankans seeking asylum in UK has been reduced relatively in the recent years, British Govt said. This was revealed according to data presented by Minister of State, Home Department in response to a question asked by Lord Naseby in Parliament as to how many Sri Lankans have sought asylum each year since Jan 2007; and how many were successful. In 2007, some 988 applications had been made & 124 asylum status had been more..

Mar 31 (DM) The first batch of nine restored Romanian compartments will be put on track this morning on a special train from Colombo Fort to Ragama, Railways General Manager Mahanama Abeywickrama said. �The first batch of the completed compartments will be put on track to Ragama today under the patronage of Transport Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva and the Deputy Minister Ashoka Abeysinghe,� he said. �A total of 200 compartments are being repaired and more..

Mar 31 (SLA) Second phase of the Nallinakkapuram Housing Complex which provides 25 new houses for one more segment of most deserving displaced families, still languishing in Jaffna-based welfare centres, was vested in the beneficiaries on Friday during a simple ceremony at Nallinakkapuram village in Jaffna. Those 25 new house recipients were also provided with ownership documents during a simple ceremony held on Friday more..

Mar 31 (CT) TNA MP Sivagnanam Sridharan said, his party has no inclination to safeguard PM Ranil Wickremesinghe under any circumstances during the no-faith motion that has been brought against him by the Joint Opposition (JO). MP charged that though his party had extended support to both the President and the Premier to resolve the burning issues of the Tamil people in the North, both Leaders had acted as if they were oblivious to the concerns of the Tamil people. more..

Mar 31 (Island) A terrorist who attempted to blow up a 35 kilo mine targeting a convoy of SL peacekeepers was arrested in Mali on Wednesday. "The suspect who belonged to a terrorist group targeted one of our convoys. When the convoy was moving, our peacekeepers saw someone behaving suspiciously. When our troops apprehended him they found a remote control used to detonate mines from a distance. Then we recovered the 35 kilo bomb," Brigadier Sumith Atapattu said. more..

Mar 31 (Island) Former Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, MP, said that his support for the No Confidence Motion (NCM) against PM Ranil Wickremesinghe would entirely depend on the JO�s proposed successor as the PM and specific plans put forward by the UNP to address contentious issues. President�s Counsel said that he represented a group of members elected on UNP ticket. "We are still open for discussions," more..