Jun 29 (Island) Former Minister of Industry Rishad Bathiudeen told Parliamentary Select Committee probing the Easter Sunday carnage that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, former PM Ratnasiri Wickramanayake, former Ministers Piyasena Gamage and Prof GL Peiris had known Yusuf Mohamed Ibrahim, the father of two suicide bombers who carried out attacks. Ibrahim is currently in custody. more..

Jun 30 (SO) The nation came out of a bloody period of continuous warfare a decade ago, but all that bloodshed, all that brave energy, has not succeeded in resolving the causes of the war. Those causes, today, still remain dangerous embers of socio-cultural conflict that could flame up again any time � as it did momentarily and tragically on April 21, Easter Sunday. But it is human to err and, as the community of dwellers on this sceptred isle, we must confront our challenges, new and old, more..

Jun 30 (CT) Clinton era Secretary of State Madeleine Albright once said, �We will behave multilaterally when we can, and unilaterally when we must.� This sums up the United States� arm-twist diplomacy in a nutshell, particularly when it comes to dealing with nations that are dependent on the West for reasons purely economic. The controversial Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which is shrouded in mystery for the most part � apart from the leaked Confidential Diplomatic Note more..

Jun 30 (SO) Former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa last Thursday filed a motion in the California Central District Court seeking to dismiss the case filed against him by Ahimsa Wickrematunge over the alleged extra-judicial killing of Lasantha Wickrematunge, the founding Editor of The Sunday Leader. Rajapaksa�s motion to dismiss the case was accompanied by a lengthy declaration filed in court on his behalf by more..

Jun 30 (ST) My dear Bond Ravi, I thought I must write to you because you are making many statements these days about what type of person the Green party�s next presidential candidate should be � even though you have not said who it would be. That is a strange way of trying to win the next big election, which is due in a few months. It is also strange because none of the other major parties have announced their candidates yet � and they have their own problems. more..

Jun 30 (ST) When President Maithripala Sirisena announced triumphantly to journalists this week that he has already signed the death warrants of four prisoners on death row, the reactions were multifaceted. The most predictable of them came from Western do-gooders who, despite repeatedly neglecting to clear their own backyards, trot out formulaic strictures to the rest of the world at the drop of a hat. In order to bear upon the SL President to halt the intended executions, more..

Jun 30 (CT) Two years and five months before the devastating Easter Sunday terror attacks, Dr. Rohan Gunaratna, a Professor of Security Studies at the Nanyang Technology University in Singapore, predicted the threat by the Islamic State (IS) in an interview with Ceylon Today titled, There are a few hundred ISIS supporters in Sri Lanka. In the interview dated 27 Nov 2016, he called on the Govt to act or suffer from terrorism more..

Jun 30 (Island) Who says our police are inefficient? An airman has been arrested, in Hingurakkgoda, over a fraud, according to a media report. He used someone else�s credit card to go on a shopping spree only to land himself in trouble. The card owner, upon receiving a massive bill, made a complaint to the police, who traced the suspect, with the help of CCTV cameras in the shops he had visited. The efficiency of the long arm of the law is truly amazing. more..

Jun 30 (Island) A statement made by UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa, last week, highlighted more than ever what was wrong with the present-day UNP. It also highlighted a point of convergence in outlook and attitude between the leader and the deputy leader of that party. What Sajith Premadasa said was that the Rajapaksa govt had tweaked the poverty figures of the country in such a way that SL was made to look like a country that had eliminated poverty and that had led to this country more..

Jun 30 (DM) Sri Lanka is in great danger of becoming a failed state if nothing is done. A failed state is one that has lost both effectiveness and legitimacy. Effectiveness means the capability to carry out state functions such as providing security. Legitimacy means the support of important groups of the population. According to J Goldstone, there are five possible pathways to state failure: 1. Escalation of communal group (ethnic or religious) conflicts. Examples: SL, Syria, Somalia, Myanmar, more..

Jun 30 (Island) Although there have been several investigations conducted by Sri Lanka Cricket and Sports Ministry into a corrupt First Class match between Panadura Sports Club and Kalutara Physical Culture Club, action is yet to be taken against the individuals who brought the game into disrepute. In 2017, Panadura and Kalutara were involved in alleged foul play as 605 runs were scored in 60 overs on the final day of a First Class match. The game was won by Panadura more..

Jun 30 (CT) Calling the 19th Amendment to the Constitution a curse, corrupt and a political conspiracy that created two Leaders in the country, Prez Sirisena on Wednesday reiterated the need to scrap it, either before or soon after the next Election. The 19th Amendment is the cause of the current political instability in the country, Prez Sirisena claimed during an interaction with the heads of media institutions, editors more..

Jun 30 (ST) It was a call from far-away Moneragala that woke me up this morning. On the line was Nana Mohideen, the jolly-mood trader and friend from Kussi Amma Sera�s extended network. �I say Sireee � no business no,� he said, in halting English. �What do you mean?� I asked. �Well after Easter Sunday incidents, few people coming to my shop. My debt rising, several bills to pay�.�,� he said, inquiring whether there was a possibility of getting some relief from govt to delay the payment more..

Jun 30 (CI) Imad Wasim reaped the rewards for managing to scrape through a tough period of batting, hanging on till the end to feast on the nervous, generous medium pace of Gulbadin Naib as Pakistan kept their semi-final push well afloat with a three-wicket win at Headingley. Imad's unbeaten 49 and his crucial partnerships with Shadab Khan and Wahab Riaz saw Pakistan through their last 11 overs, a period where they had to contend with Afghanistan's spinners on a turning pitch and more..

Jun 30 (Island) Cricket in Sri Lanka is in a real mess. Well, when every sphere of life in the country is rapidly deteriorating and when every fabric of the society is hitting new lows, just how can cricket alone rise above all else? We have heard about the famous story of Lee Kuan Yew, the former PM of Singapore, who had a vision to turn his country like Colombo in 1960s. We are soon to see the cricketing parlance of this. more..

Jun 30 (CI) Big-game temperament, they said. On a decent run of form, with players coming back in who will strengthen them further. Know how to win a World Cup (or five). Plenty of observers warned the real Australia would turn up at this tournament, though fewer predicted they would be the first team to secure a semi-final place. But after brushing aside the early pace-setters in this round-robin format, Australia look increasingly - and menacingly - close to their best once again. more..

Jun 30 (SO) Former captain Dinesh Chandimal is one of the many SL star cricketers produced by Ananda College, Colombo which has been a breeding ground for outstanding young cricketers. The galaxy of the Sri Lanka national players produced by Ananda is headed by Sri Lanka�s World Cup winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga. In fact, out of the 40 Observer Schoolboy Cricketers of the Year main award winners, Ananda has a greater portion with nine winners. more..

Jun 30 (ST) Sri Lanka cricket team is like the British weather. If you like them one day�like on June 21, when they brought down one of the pre-tournament favourites, England�there�s a good chance you might dislike them the next. So contrasting have been Sri Lanka�s conduct in this year�s World Cup. On Friday, they produced one of their most ridiculous performances in recent history, handing out a comprehensive victory to more..

Jun 30 (AD) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe says renovation of the Zion Church in Batticaloa, which became a target of coordinated terrorist attacks on Easter Sunday. He added that renovation of the church would conclude before the Christmas festival this year. PM gave this assurance during his observation visit to the Zion Church this morning (29). The Office of the PM stated that the premier has given special attention to improving the physical & mental well-being of Easter attack victims. more..

Jun 30 (ICC) Sri Lanka seamer Nuwan Pradeep has been ruled out of the remainder of CWC19 due to chickenpox, with fellow pacer Kasun Rajitha coming in in his place. The 32-year old has taken five wickets thus far in the tournament at an economy rate of 5.41, helping Sri Lanka to wins over England and Afghanistan. He missed the last game, as his side succumbed to a heavy defeat at the hands of South Africa, and he has departed from the squad with Rajitha immediately taking his position. more..

Jun 30 (ST) Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in a first time move, has sought the assistance of Int'l Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) to crackdown on a Sri Lankan capital market offender. Interpol was contacted to summon one person based in Ireland to the SL courts, according to SEC sources. Raw from the reputational dent it faced owing to lapses in probes, the SEC went to courts against him more..

Jun 30 (IC) Mahela Jayawardene would like to see Dimuth Karunaratne�s men approach their final two round-robin World Cup matches with an aggressive mindset and finish the tournament on a high. SL play WI on July 1 and India on July 6, and Mahela called on the team to believe in their abilities and not begin the post-mortem of their disappointing WC campaign just yet. �It�s too early to write them off and look beyond the tournament, there�s plenty of time to do that once it�s over,� more..

Jun 30 (S24) A career-best five-for by Thando Ntini was not enough for the South Africa Emerging team as they suffered a four-wicket loss to their Sri Lanka counterparts in the opening match of the One-Day triangular series in Pretoria on Saturday. The right-arm paceman nabbed five for 46 in nine overs, but it could not prevent the tourists from cantering to a 187-run victory target with more than 11 overs to spare. It was a disappointing loss for a strongly-assembled home side, more..

Jun 30 (Hindu) Within a span of two weeks, an influential Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka and a local govt authority came up with the same demand � that the people boycott Muslim traders and their businesses. In the two months since the Easter terror attacks, concerns over security seem to have given way to discrimination, as can be seen in the recurring attempts by many to seek a boycott of Muslim businesses � both in the more..

Jun 30 (SO) Susanthika Jayasinghe who was chief guest at the Olympic Day Run said that athletics would be in safe hands if administrators follow the military which does not change policies whenever its head retires. She made the remarks when the Olympic Day run was held in Matara on June 25 while recalling that her parents faced many hardships but were unable to find the means to provide the facilities during her young days. �I earnestly request all parents to give more..

Jun 30 (ST) The govt, in a bid to purge the pessimism created through the recent terror attack in April has settled Rs. 70 billion worth overdue payments to the Central Expressway contractors while concessionary loan schemes and lower interest rates for home builders to restore stalled construction will be rolled out in the next few quarters, officials say. Construction which is the highest contributor to the industrial sector saw an encouraging growth of 7.6% year on year in more..

Jun 30 (AD) The results of the radiocarbon dating test report carried out by a laboratory in the US on the bone samples recovered from the mass grave in Mannar are questionable, says Prof. Raj Somadeva of Archaeology at the Postgraduate Institute of the Uni of Kelaniya. Prof. Somadeva, said there are doubts concerning the estimated time period of the bone fragment samples as they were recovered from the same grave but more..

Jun 30 (ST) A bill to provide ownership of lands for those who are living on state lands through legal means for more than 10 years will be introduced in Parliament shortly. The move will enable those occupying these lands to sell or transfer ownership legally and also obtain other facilities such as bank loans and use the deed as a valid document for school admissions. The Bill covers lands granted under the provisions of the Land Development Ordinance, lands disposed under more..

Jun 30 (EN) Sri Lanka is planning to index alcohol taxes to inflation, State Minister Eran Wickramaratne has said. "When we tax alcohol, we are now moving to the principle that we will follow an indexation relating to the rate of inflation," he said. "Instead of taxing alcohol according to the wants of the minister or the ministry we will adopt this as a policy." "There have been accusations from time to time that taxes have been charged to benefit the ministry, or minister or someone. more..

Jun 30 (CT) Police have begun investigations into the strike action called by a group of Railway trade unions and have already questioned three union leaders in this connection, while the authorities said they had drawn up plans to combat future strikes of this nature. Police investigation begun after the General Manager of SL Railways, Dilantha Fernando lodged a complaint with the Fort Police against the TU leaders who launched more..

Jun 30 (AD) MP Mavai S. Senathirajah has been reappointed as the leader of the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK). 16th general meeting of the party was held in Nallur, Jaffna today (29). Former Minister of Agriculture & Irrigation of Eastern Province Krishnapillai Thurairajasingam was appointed as the general secretary of ITAK. Leader of TNA MP R. Sampanthan currently serves as the patron of ITAK. Meanwhile, upcoming programmes of ITAK are to be launched tomorrow (30). more..

Jun 30 (EN) Inflation in Colombo grew 3.8% in June from a year earlier, down from 5% in May, state statistics office said. The Colombo Consumer Price Index compiled by the Census and Statistics Department grew 0.9% to 130.2 points in June from a month earlier. Inflation has now fallen below the 4-6% target range of the central bank, amidst low credit demand and economic growth. SL's rupee has been trading at a stable rate around 176 in June, after appreciating earlier in 2019. more..

Jun 30 (AD) The Chairman of Bank of Ceylon (BOC) Senarath Bandara says that the Batticaloa Campus Private Limited has never mentioned to the bank that the Rs 3.5 billion deposited to their BOC savings accounts was received as a foreign loan from a Saudi Arabian company to establish the campus. He stated this yesterday (28) testifying before the Special Parliamentary Select Committee looking into the Easter Sunday attacks. more..

Jun 30 (ST) The Board of Management of the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA) in a letter to the Minister of Finance has threatened to consider resigning en masse if the Ministry went ahead with the importation of Chinese or other foreign cigarettes. The letter, signed by NATA chairman Dr. Palitha Abeykoon, and copied to the Health Minister, expressed NATA�s deep concern about the decision to grant a licence to import cigarettes from China. more..

Jun 30 (AD) Three persons have been killed in a collision between a van and a lorry near the Moragoda Junction on the Thambuttegama-Anuradhapura road. The accident has occurred at around 4.40 am this morning (30). Six persons including three females who had been travelling on the van had been admitted to the Anuradhapura Hospital over the injuries sustained in the collision. However, the 3 women had late succumbed to their injuries, stated the Police. more..

Jun 30 (ST) Political disasters cause as much damage as natural disasters, but in the case of SL, paradoxical enough, there appears to be unexpected spin-offs for the good. On Oct 26 last year, Prez Sirisena removed PM Wickremesinghe and replaced him with his predecessor and political arch rival, Mahinda Rajapaksa. The move was coupled together with another � dissolution of Parliament to facilitate a general election � more..

Jun 30 (Island) These days the general comments one hears around in Colombo are that the Easter Sunday killings and destruction have impacted badly on the quality of our leadership, on our intelligence services even as much as it did on the ISIS bombers. Whether it could have been avoided or not is the question that calls for a response. From whom? Who is accountable to whom? The leaders are strutting around as if they were a law unto themselves unaccountable to none, more..

Jun 30 (Island) A lower-middle-class household in the 1980s offered only the most basic, tactile, physical pursuits for a child, bounded by the garden or at the furthest, the start of a private lane leading to my house. I wasn�t adventurous and, in any case, after July 1983, a neighbourhood marked by charred remains of brick, mortar and Tamil lives wasn�t one parents sent their children to wander around in. I spent my time with books, inherited from my sister. And then, I discovered more..

Jun 30 (SO) UPFA Kalutara District Lawmaker Kumar Welgama fell victim to the candidate wars within the recently founded SLPP, for being overly critical of former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapkasa�s plans to run for presidential office. At the SLPP District Coordination Committee meeting held in Badulla yesterday, a motion was submitted to remove Welgama from the Badulla District leadership, which was passed unanimously more..