Hold PC elections soon

Elections Commission (EC) Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya said yesterday he has written to political party leaders including President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Speaker Karu Jayasuriya requesting them to conduct the provincial council elections as early as possible. He said he would write to the Opposition Leader and party

Railways goes to CID over sabotage

The Railways Department had lodged complaint with the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) to investigate over the damages caused to train compartments and locomotives by the striking workers, Additional General Manager of Railways Wijaya Samarasinghe said.

He said sabotage activities such as damaging several train

Petroleum Bowser Association to launch strike on Friday

he Ceylon Petroleum Private Bowser Owners Association (CPPBOA) today warned that it would suspend transportation of fuel from CPC storage sites from Friday if authorities failed to increase payment for transportation by 12.5 per cent.

Secretary of the Association Shantha Silva said that subsequent to the recent fuel hike their

UNP to appoint new members to it's WC

The United National Party (UNP) is to appoint a few more members to its Working Committee (WC) tomorrow (31), party General Secretary Akila Viraj Kariyawasam said yesterday.

Mr. Kariyawasam told Daily Mirror that the new members will be appointed during the Working Committee meeting.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe recently said that more party

Champika’s stance on 20A is no concern of ours: JVP

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramnua (JVP) MP Sunil Hadunnetti said yesterday they were not concerned about Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka’s stance on the 20th Amendment to the Constitution because his stance from the beginning had been to retain the executive presidency.

He told Daily Mirror that they respected Mr. Ranawaka for

SLC complains to CID on the “Pitch Fixing”

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) will complain to the Criminal Investigations Department against the persons who have been allegedly involved in “Pitch Fixing” as reported in the Al Jazeera documentary and decided to suspend their service with immediate effect. Already ICC is carrying out investigations.

In a statement it said the decision had been taken following an

What purpose if citizens do not have protection: MR

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa questioned the country’s law and order stating that there is no purpose if it doesn’t protect the people.

While expressing his condolence on Saturday over the tragic assassination of cricketer Dhananjaya de Silva’s father - Ranjan de

Constitution-making: Experts' Committee asked to submit paper

The parliamentary steering committee is said to have instructed its experts’ committee to submit a paper for consideration, when drafting the new Constitution within two weeks.

The steering committee is headed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, with another committee of experts to advice the

No Govt. funds used to build 'Seemamalakaya': Champika

Megapolis Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said yesterday no government funds were used to build the "Seemamalakaya" in the Diyawanna Oya near the Parliament Road as alleged by joint opposition MP Gamini Lokuge in parliament.

He told parliament that the MP had alleged on Thursday that the

Disaster management rehearsal at Galewela Hospital halted by Palitha Thewarapperuma

A tense situation arose yesterday (25) during a disaster management rehearsal which was held in Galewela with the arrival of Sustainable Development, Wildlife and Regional Development Deputy Minister Palitha Thewarapperuma at the rehearsal.

The Deputy Minister has noticed residents in Galewela behaving in

Section of 'Seemamalakaya' on Diyawanna has sunk

One side of the floating structure built by a private construction company on the Diyawanna Oya for use as a 'Seemamalakaya' by the Amarapura Maha Sangha Sabha, has partially sunk because of a snag in the construction, Project Director and Senior Engineer Shameera Jayawardane said yesterday.

The public-funded structure, which is mid way in the construction

Heavy rains to reduce from tomorrow

Meteorology Department Director General K.H.M.S. Premalal said based on yesterday’s atmospheric observations the heavy rains were expected to lessen in intensity by tomorrow.

He said showers and thundershowers will occur at times mostly in the South-Western part of the country including the Western,

JVP hands over 20A to Speaker

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake today handed over a draft proposal for the 20th Amendment to the Constitution on abolishing the Executive Presidency.

The proposal was handed over to Speaker Karu Jayasuriya at 11.15

SL Defence Attaché issue raised in British Parliament

The issue of former Defence Attaché Brigadier Priyankara Fernando was raised by MP Hywel Williams in the British Parliament on Wednesday.

The MP asked Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific Mark Field what discussions he has had with Sri Lankan Foreign Affairs

Members who had allegations can't be in COPE: Mahindananda

Joint Opposition MP Mahindananda Aluthgamage yesterday alleged that the Committee On Public Enterprises (COPE) members who had allegations of engaging in telephone conversations with Perpetual Treasuries Limited (PTL) owner Arjun Aloysius during the Central Bank bond scam investigations, had been reappointed

Govt. is attempting to postpone PC polls: JO

The government was using the same trick they used in the Local Government elections to postpone the elections of the three Provincial Councils such as Eastern, Sabaragamuwa and North Central provinces, Joint Opposition member and MP Dullas

PM warns journalists against pandering to Rajapaksas

Journalists who are bent on bringing the Rajapaksa regime back to power do not realize that they are willingly putting a noose around their own necks, said Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday at UNP Headquarters in Sirikotha.

Speaking further he said that a number of journalists who are

PM will inform on PC Polls soon: Speaker

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya yesterday informed Parliament that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe would inform Parliament this week about the decision on the Provincial Council Elections.

He said this in response to an allegation made by Joint Opposition MP Dullas Allahapperuma that the Government was trying to evade

China to invest USD 700 mn in LNG power plant

Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrama said yesterday the government had cleared a proposal for Chinese investment worth 700 million US dollars to build an LNG power plant in Hambantota.

Addressing a symposium at the Chinese Embassy, he said it would

New dress code for pregnant teachers

The Education Ministry has introduced a special dress code for expectant teachers from today based on a decision taken by Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam

“Pregnant teachers wore the traditional saree to school even during advanced stages of pregnancy and this will be very uncomfortable

Files on LTTE and MI5 in SL erased at UK Foreign Office

Britain’s Foreign Office had destroyed almost 200 files on Sri Lanka dating from the start of the LTTE uprising during which MI5 (Military Intelligence, Section 5) and the SAS (Special Air Service) secretly advised the country’s security forces, the Guardian reported on Wednesday.

It said the loss of the files means that there is almost no record of

M.H.M. Navavi resigns from parliamentary seat

United National Party National list parliamentarian M.H.M Navavi has resigned from his portfolio, Secretary General of Parliament said.

Navavi is a member of the All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC)

Current govt. has given war heroes the place they deserve – Fonseka

Minister of Sustainable Development, Wildlife and Regional Development Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, states that the current government has given the country’s war heroes the place they deserve.

Responding to questions from the media, he says that certain people

Tripping of grid substations cause power outages in several areas

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) said that the tripping of grid substations in Katunayake, Bolawatta, Pannala, Maho, Puttalam, Chilaw and Old-Anuradhapura have resulted in power outages in several areas.

The CEB said that the tripping of the grid substation in Chilaw at

Mahendran played key role in singing FTA: Dayasiri

SLFP MP Dayasiri Jayasekara alleged today that former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran, who was in Singapore, had played the key role in signing the Free Trade Agreement between Sri Lanka and Singapore.

"Mr. Mahendran has been assigned the duties to function as the Sri

Investing in new refinery system is better than establishing expressways - Arjuna

Minister of Petroleum Resources Development Arjuna Ranatunga says that the best solution to manipulate the fuel prices is to establish a new refinery system.

He said his personal view is investing to a new refinery system is

JVP to present 20A in parliament today

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) said yesterday it would today present the 20th Amendment to the Constitution on abolishing the executive presidency.

JVP MP Bimal Ratnayake told Daily Mirror the draft of the

FTA with Singapore: Lankans won't lose job opportunities

Sri Lankan professionals will not lose job opportunities as a result of the free trade agreement (FTA) which Sri Lanka has signed with Singapore and neither will the country's job market be opened for foreigners under this agreement, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said.

He had said this when he met representatives of the Sri Lanka

Can't compare JVP with LTTE: Champika

Minister Champika Ranawaka said yesterday the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) could not be compared with the LTTE.

He said this at the 2018 Virudana Ranaviru Upahara or

JVP hits back at Rajitha

JVP MP Vijitha Herath yesterday rejected the statement made by Minister Rajitha Senaratne where he compared the the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) with the LTTE and said it was surprising for the minister, who had led a terrorist outfit known as “Pra” to make such a statement.

He told Daily Mirror the JVP was a political party that had stood

Akila plans postings for ‘political victims

A plan by Akila Viraj Kariyawasam to give education sector appointments to 1,058 persons alleging them to be political victims has come to light, ‘Ravaya’ reports.

He has sought approval of the Public Services Commission for the

Ministry orders inquiry over abandoned jumbo with gunshot injuries

The Wildlife Ministry yesterday ordered for an investigation into the incident where an elephant was found with gunshot injuries in Gomarankadawala, Trincomalee had been left without treatment by Wildlife Conservation Department officials claiming the injury was incurable.

Wildlife Deputy Minister Palitha Thewarapperuma told Daily

COPE, PAC, Public Finance: Former members re-appointed

Party leaders, who convened at the Parliamentary complex yesterday decided to reappoint the former members who served in the parliamentary bodies Committee on Public Enterprises(COPE), Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Public Finance Committee.

These committees lapsed as a result of the prorogation of

Don’t use war heroes for personal agendas: Army Chief

War heroes must not be manipulated to serve narrow objectives and personal agendas, nor should they be incited to resort to emotional and anti-social acts, Army Commander Mahesh Senanayake said.

Lieutenant General Senanayake said nine years have passed since the eradication of terrorism from the country and he firmly believed the freedom thus gained should be shared not by

Pandu Bandaranayake joins SLPP

Former Minister and SLFP stalwart Pandu Bandaranayake said yesterday he joined the Sri Lanka Podu Jana Peramuna (SLPP) in order to be a part of the progressive political journey of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa.

He said as the only “Bandaranayake “in active politics today, he took great pain to leave the SLFP.

Deaths of two British rugby players: Police probe drug use

Police are investigating whether drugs contributed to the death of two British rugby players after a visit to a nightclub in Colombo.

A source said that 27-year-old Thomas Baty, who died on Tuesday (15), had given a statement while he was undergoing treatment at

Meethotamulla tragedy: AG's report blames CMC

The Auditor General had held that the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) was responsible for the death of 32 people and for the damage caused to properties as a result of the collapse of the Meethotamulla garbage dump in April last year.

The report of the audit carried out by the Auditor General's

Saman Weerasinghe appointed as Presidential advisor

Dr. Saman Weerasinghe, former Ambassador of Sri Lanka in the Russian Federation from the year 2016 to 2018 has been appointed as President Maithripala Sirisena’s Advisor on International Affairs with Immediate effect.

As an individual, his achievements include an award presented by the Russian Government, which is the highest level of recognition received by a Sri Lankan citizen for friendship, to date.

His level of professionalism played a vital role in speedily and effectively solving the recent tea crisis, which put the country at a major economical risk.

JVP urge Govt. to reduce fuel prices

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) today urged the government to reduce the recently increased fuel prices and said the government was earning the tax income on fuel unreasonably, showing losses of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC).

JVP MP Vijitha Herath told a news conference that the fuel prices

Cabinet approves to absorb 982 SAITM students to KDU

Cabinet approval has been granted to absorb 982 SAITM students to General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU), Higher Education Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said.

Speaking to Daily Mirror, Dr. Rajapakshe said the students would

Power supply restored, says CEB

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) said that it had restored the power interruption in the Colombo area a short while ago.

Energy Ministry Secretary Dr Suren Batagoda said as he was informed by the CEB engineers, it was identified by them as a software malfunction.

However, after five hours, the power was

Police seek public help to arrest woman over Rs. 15mn fraud

The Police today released a picture of a 50-year-old woman, who was wanted over an alleged financial fraud of Rs. 15 million.

Police Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekera said the woman had been evading arrest over the fraud, in which cheques issued by her to several shop owners had not been honoured.

The woman has been operating a boutique dress shop in Mount Lavinia and had issued the cheques after buying dress items from various businessmen.

SP Gunasekera said at least 24 complaints had been lodged to the Mount Lavinia Police and the Mount Lavinia Special Crimes Investigation Unit against the woman in connection with Rs. 8.6 million financial frauds.

The Mount Lavinia Magistrate’s Court had issued an arrest

New Chairpersons for state media institutions

Minister of Finance and Mass Media Mangala Samaraweera has appointed new Chairpersons to the state-owned media institutions.

Inoka Sathyangani has been appointed as Chairperson of Rupavahini Corporation while Siddi Mohamed Farook has been

TID summons Dilum Amunugama

Joint Opposition MP Dilum Amunugama has been summoned by the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) to present at the TID today to record a statement, UPFA MP Shehan Semasinghe told

MP Amunugama has been summoned to record a statement over the recent violent incidents that took place in Kandy.

The TID initiated a special investigation into the

President Srisena to return from Iran today

President Maithripala Sirisena who is on a two-day state visit to Iran, is scheduled to arrive at the country today (14).

The President met Iranian President Hassan Rouhani yesterday (13) and signed five new MoUs to further strengthen the economic and trade ties between the two countries, according

A special program to resolve the human-elephant conflict is underway –Sarath Fonseka

A special program to find solutions for the human-elephant conflict, which causes humans’ as well as wild elephants’ deaths, is currently being prepared, said the Minister of Sustainable Development, Wildlife and Regional Development Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka.

He says that several discussions regarding this have been held on the Ministerial-level.

Also, measures have been taken to provide

A Supreme Court fundamental rights petition against the Uva CM

The Principal of Tamil Girls’ Maha Vidyalaya, Badulla has filed a fundamental rights petition at the Supreme Court saying that the Uva Province Chief Minister has violated her fundamental rights by forcing her to kneel before him.

Principal R. Bhavani has named 8 persons including Uva Chief

Petrol can be sold for Rs 90, if taxes removed: Gammanpila

A litre of petrol could be sold for Rs. 90, if not for the taxes, Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) leader and MP Udaya Gammanpila said today.

“There are four taxes imposed on fuel such as Import Duty, Local

There is no controversy between the Rajapaksa brothers –Mahinda Rajapaksa

There is no controversy between the Rajapaksa brothers as some say, said the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

He made this comment in response to a question raised by a media personnel after a religious program at the Thimbirigasyaya Sama Viharaya, this morning (13).

Speaking further, the former President said that through the

Norochcholai Coal Power Plant could affect Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi: Ecologist

The toxic acids evaporated from the Norochcholai Coal Power Plant could pose a threat to the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, the oldest living tree of the world with a written history, Ecologist Dr. Ranil Senanayake said yesterday.

Addressing a press conference organized by the Centre for Human