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The main aim of the no-confidence motion should be to push the government to call for an immediate election, team of political thinkers for Basil Rajapaksa has stressed.

According to sources this team had been in charge of all the political schemes to ensure a ‘pohottuwa’ win in the recent local government elections.

One of the main advisors to Basil Rajapaksa, senior lecturer at the University of Peradeniya, Prof. Charitha Ratawatte writing regarding the no-confidence motion to a sinhala daily has said the victory of the no-confidence motion is to strengthen the fight to go for an early general election.

''The win of getting rid of Ranil becomes for fruitful for the joint opposition if a general election can be called in agreement to appoint a new” he said.

Hopes of pohottuwa supporters:

Writing further Prof. Herath said the JO should understand the hopes of their party members while adding that in his opinion they are equally against Ranil as well as SLFP members in the cabinet headed by him.

Therefore hopes of the members will not be fulfilled by appointing Nimal Siripala nor Karu as PM he further added.

- Read Charitha Herath’s complete article from here

Prof. Charitha Herath’s analysis

US authorities had prevented Namal Rajapaksa from boarding a flight from Moscow to Houston, Texas as his name was included on a travel watch list, the New Indian Express reported.

According to sources, US authorities do not comment on individual cases but official sources said his name was likely on a travel watch list as a result of money laundering charges he faces at home.

Namal Rajapaksa, son of former strongman president Mahinda Rajapaksa, said the airline had been instructed not to allow him to board the flight to Houston.

Tweeting immediately about his predicament, Namal Rajapaksa said that “I won't make my Houston Flight as #US Officials instruct them to not let me board. Sure it has nothing to do with my name, being part of #lka opposition or my travel from #Russia.”

Namal Rajapaksa and a sibling have been charged with money-laundering. Other family members face corruption allegations.

Sri Lanka has announced it will set up special courts to investigate billions of dollars of corruption under former president Rajapaksa who was defeated in 2015 elections.

Namal Rajapaksa, the eldest son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is indicted in Sri Lanka on money-laundering charges, did not have a valid visa to travel to the US, the US Government said after the young MP was prevented from boarding a flight to Texas from Moscow’s Domodedovo International Airport last week.

“Mr Namal Rajapaksa, 31, did not have a valid visa to travel to the US and without valid travel documents, airline carriers do not normally allow international passengers to board flights destined to the US, US Border Patrol told the fact-checking website Polygraph.info, run by Voice of America. “All travellers arriving to the United States must possess valid travel documents. For foreign nationals, this includes a current passport and a valid visa or visa waiver issued by the US Government,” US Border Patrol said, in its comment to Polygraph on why the Sri Lankan MP was denied entry. When contacted, a US Embassy Spokesperson in Colombo, however, said the Embassy does not comment on individual visa matters.

On Thursday (22), Namal Rajapaksa tweeted that he had been barred entry to the US when he was attempting to board a flight from Moscow.

“Valid reason yet to be given,” he claimed on Twitter.

Rajapaksa told the Reuters news agency that the US had a right to refuse his entry, but added that they could have informed him earlier. On his official Twitter account, Rajapaksa Junior hinted that the refusal of entry could be linked to his travel from Russia, where he was “observing” the Russian presidential election. “Sure it has nothing to do with my name, being part of #lka opposition or my travel from #Russia,” the 31-year-old MP tweeted from the Moscow airport.

However, authoritative sources said that Rajapaksa was in possession of knowledge of his US visa status, when he attempted to board the flight.

Rajapaksa’s US visa was revoked because he is currently only trial in Sri Lankan court on money laundering charges, and this had been notified to him in writing long before he attempted to board his Emirates flight from Moscow, highly placed sources told the Sunday Observer.

Rajapaksa said was attempting to travel to the US to attend the funeral of his aunt, late Dr Yatendra Rajapaksa who was married to Dudley Rajapaksa. He was to fly to Houston, Texas from Moscow on Wednesday night. Namal Rajapaksa told Reuters that he had a ‘valid’ multiple-entry visa for the US, even though US Border Patrol has now refuted this claim.

Namal Rajapaksa’s passport had been impounded by court in connection with the money-laundering charges he is currently facing. The former President’s son had his passport released temporarily to him by court for two months, to undertake travel to Russia and Nepal in his capacity as a parliamentarian.

The son of former President Rajapaksa and six others are on trial at Colombo High Court on charges of money laundering to the tune of Rs. 30 million between 2013-2014, through Namal Rajapaksa’s financial services firm, Gowers Corporate Services Private Limited.

Rajapaksa has denied any wrongdoing, and claims the charges are part of a political witch-hunt.

In its story on the US visa controversy, Polygraph said it was not the visit to Russia that had kept the Sri Lankan politico out of the US, despite Rajapaksa’s hints in his tweet.

Polygraph.info is a fact-checking website produced by Voice of America (VOA)​ and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. On the Polygraph website ‘About’ page, the news site says VOA and RFE/RL journalists research and analyse quotes, stories, and reports distributed by government officials, government-sponsored media and other high-profile individuals. “The reporters separate fact from fiction, add context, and debunk lies.”

Source : Sunday Observer

Differences of opinion are plaguing the Joint opposition camp after the recent submission of the no-confidence motion against the PM sources say.

The situation seems to have escalated after convenor of the JO, Prasanna Ranatunga was found scolding its members using foul language in public without the mention of any names political sources say.

They say he had behaved in such a manner as a statement made by him on March 20 had been posted on a JO leaders website in a distorted manner.

A five-member committee has been appointed to make necessary recommendations and proposals to increase railway ticket prices.

The committee has been appointed by General Manager of Railways, S.M. Abeywickrama while it will be headed by Additional General Manager of Railways Vijaya Samarasinghe along with four other officers of the Department of Railways.

According to Department sources prices of Railway, tickets will be increased after the upcoming Sinhalese and Hindu New year.

Prices of railway tickets have not been increased since the year 2008.

President Maithripala Sirisena has ordered a crackdown on damage caused to the environment in the Muthurajawela wetland sanctuary.

The President’s media division said that the President had ordered that all constructions, land filling and other activities which damage the environment in the Muthurajawela wetland sanctuary be suspended.

Environmentalists had recently raised concerns over moves by a private company to construct a housing scheme in the sanctuary.

Source : Colombo Gazette

An individual was arrested by the Police Narcotic Bureau (PNB) at Kotahena today for being in possession of foreign liquor worth some Rs 50 million.

The 44-year-old suspect has been identified as a resident in R A de Mel Mawatha, Colombo 3 Police said. The Police had made the arrest on a tip-off received.

Police said 15,431 bottles of wine and champagne were among those seized. The suspect was later released on Police bail. The PNB is conducting further investigations the Police said.

The first female Mayor of the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) Rosy Senanayake and 60 other councillors elected from the United National Party (UNP) took oaths before the party leader and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe at Temple Trees yesterday (19). Mohammed Iqbal took oaths as the Deputy Mayor.

Minister D.M Swaminathan and several other UNP Ministers and Parliamentarians were also present at the ceremony.

Addressing the newly elected UNP members to the CMC, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said it is their duty to find the funds and effectively address the issues faced by the people in the city such as the spread of dengue and waste disposal.

Source: Colombo Page

Sinha Mela 2018 organized by the Sinha regiment of the Sri Lanka Army is set to be funded by salaries of soldiers belonging to the regiment sources say. The move has left the soldiers irked as it has been decided by the top brass of the regiment that Rs. 7500 will be levied from their salaries in order to fund the event. According to inside sources, the amount will be levied in exchange for free tickets to the event.

However many soldiers have been left upset at the significant amount set to be cut from their monthly wages with soldiers from every battalion expected to make the compulsory contribution. According to one officer of the regiment Rs. 5000 was levied from their salaries for a previous Sinha Mela event and they were promised that facilities at the regiment will be improved. “However this was not done,” he said adding that he was unsure as to what the funds from the event was utilized for.

The regiment is currently being headed by Major General Piyal Wickramaratne.

However, when questioned regarding the matter at the cabinet briefing this week Military spokesman Brigadier Sumith Atapattu said it is not compulsory for a soldier to make a contribution.

 The U.S. embassy in Colombo in partnership with the Matara District Chamber of Commerce and Industry launched an American Innovation Hub (iHub) in Matara yesterday.

The iHub will provide employment and leadership skills for young people, promote English language learning, encourage study in the United States, and introduce the local community to American culture and values.

"The American Innovation Hub will inspire creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship in the Southern Province through technology and engineering programs,” said U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Officer James Russo at the opening. “As we celebrate our 70th anniversary of partnership with Sri Lanka, we are delighted to expand our people-to-people connections in Matara.”

Mr. Russo and President of the Matara District Chamber of Commerce and Industry Metta Widanagamachchi inaugurated the iHub, which is located in the Matara Chamber of Commerce building at No.149, Hakmana Road, Matara.

Telecom giant Dialog Axiata, in partnership with Ideamart, hosted a NB-IoT Hackathon for the first time in Sri Lanka. Held on the 17th of March, the hackathon brought together 9 teams tasked with creating NB-IoT services using Dialog’s IoT platform or making existing services NB-IoT compatible. Dialog’s developer relations and community development arm, Ideamart, conducted over 15 NB-IoT awareness sessions around the country for students and startups.

The hackathon was carried out in two phases. Phase one consisted in a pre-hackathon event on 15 March to educate participating teams on Dialog’s NB-IoT network, special device packages, IoT developer kits and the future of IoT in Sri Lanka. Phase two was the hackathon itself, held on 17 March at the Dialog Head Office Auditorium.

The first place winners, Team Death Squad from Innova IT Systems, received LKR 150,000, while 1st runners up, Bite Code from the University of Peradeniya won LKR 100,000 and 2nd runners up, Team Strangers from University of Rajarata and Team Myhub from MyHub.lk received LKR 50,000. Consumer based services initiated at the hackathon included a water quality monitoring tool for the Anuradhapura district, infant healthcare products and fitness bands that use the NB-IoT network and Dialog’s existing IoT platform.

Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa, who was in Moscow, Russia to observe the presidential election, said that he was not allowed to travel to the US on the instructions of US officials.

In a Twitter message, MP Rajapaksa said that the Emirates Airline officials in Moscow informed him that he cannot board a flight to Houston as US officials instructed the airline not to let him, board.

“Emirates Air #Moscow informs I won’t make my Houston Flight as #US Officials instruct them to not let me, board. Valid reason yet to be received. The US has the Sovereign right of course. Sure it has nothing to do with my name, being part of #lka opposition or my travel from #Russia” he tweeted.