News

Inter-ministerial Delegate for the French candidacy to organise the 'World Expo 2025', Pascal Lemy, held talks with Minister of Finance and Media Mangala Samaraweera this week. The meeting was to ensure Sri Lanka’s support for the French government's bid to organize the ‘World Expo 2025’.

Four countries have announced their candidacy to host the World Expo 2025: France (in Greater Paris), Japan (in Osaka), the Russian Federation (in Ekaterinburg), and Azerbaijan (in Baku).

The 170 Member States of the BIE is expected to elect the host country at the 164th General Assembly in November 2018.

World Expos, known officially as International Registered Exhibitions, are organised every five years. The themes of World Expos are designed to raise awareness of and find responses to universal challenges of our time. The next World Expo will take place in Dubai (UAE) between 20 October 2020 and 10 April 2021 under the theme “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”.

Serela Athulathmudali, the daughter of prominent Sri Lankan politicians the late Lalith and Srimathi Athulathmudali met President Maithripala Sirisena at his official residence yesterday. Joining her on the visit was her seven-year-old son.

Recalling her father’s efforts to build a free and democratic nation, Serela is said to have expressed her support to President Sirisena in his endeavours to achieve the same for the country. She is also said to have appreciated his efforts to make Sri Lanka an internationally accepted nation by ensuring democracy and freedom.

Lalith Athulathmudali was a former Minister of National Security and Agriculture. He was also a powerful minister in the J.R Jayewardene government between a 1977-1988. He was slain by an unidentified gunman in 1993.

Former Minister Ravi Karunanayake today filed an RTI application at the Presidential Secretariat to get a copy of the report of Presidential Commission of Inquiry on Bond issue.

The former Minister, speaking to the media outside the Secretariat, insisted on fast-paced investigations on the MIG craft deal, hedging deal, Greek bond issue and loss of Sri Lankan Airlines. He said some were trying to bring disrepute to him, the UNP, and the party leadership using the bond issue.

“The UNP is targeted in an unfair manner during an election period. I have been engaged in politics for 25 long years. We do politics with the people and our hands are clean. You may assassinate me, but please do not assassinate my character,” Karunanayake said refuting the allegations made against him on the bond issue as well as giving false evidence.

He also reiterated that the Central Bank and Commercial Banks were not under him at the time the controversial bond transaction occurred.

“It is our Government that made the Right to Information Act a reality and pioneered a new political culture. I am requesting a copy of the report under the RTI Act as some elements and the media have levelled allegations against me quoting the bond commission report. I will aptly reply after reading the report,” he added.

The Bond Commission report was handed over to the President on December 30. The former Minister of Finance had also previously written to the President's secretary to obtain a copy of the report but failed.

Source : Daily News

The President is said to have inquired about government newspaper the Daily News’s failure to carry sections of the President’s statement regarding the bond issue which named the former Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake.

It is said that Lake House authorities had then claimed the fax received by the organization made no mention of Karunanayake. It was later revealed that the fault was with the President’s media unit which had faxed the statement sans the page mentioning the Former Finance Minister.

While the unit is said to have re-faxed the statement, they had however failed to inform the necessary individuals at Lake House resulting in Karunanayake being left out in the news which featured on the paper.

Law and Order Minister Sagala Ratnayaka said the Galle Fort no longer runs the risk of being eliminated from the UNESCO world heritage list as the government has adopted necessary measures to preserve and protect the site in line with international standards.

"The Galle Fort was declared a world heritage site due to its historic and architectural value. In recent times, it ran the risk of being eliminated from the world heritage list due to constructions contravening the UNESCO standards. But, Soon after our government came to power, we adopted measures to ensure that the Galle Fort meets the world heritage standards. As part of the same plan, we have earmarked 14 buildings within the fort that need to be vacated," the Minister said, after visiting the Galle Fort on Sunday (January 07).

The Ministers said some buildings would end up in deplorable conditions in the absence of such measures. He said this would be carried out while minimizing the impact on the day-to-day affairs, within the fort.

"Some allege that we plan to vacate the All Saints Central College. But they turn a blind eye to the fact that 2500 students carrying out their academic activities in a 70-acre land and to difficulties faced by them, on a daily basis. We are currently looking at measures to give a sustainable solution to all parties. It is a great victory that we managed to eliminate the risk of being eliminated from the world heritage list. Had Galle been eliminated, it would have been an embarrassment to the entire nation," the Minister explained.

Ratnayaka also added that he would continuously conduct progress review meetings to monitor the situation and resolve issues that arise on the run

plastic surgery clinic in Bangkok has made headlines in Thailand after it reportedly shared a video on Facebook of an unconventional new “beauty” treatment: penis bleaching.

“These days a lot of people are asking about it. We get around 100 clients a month, three to four clients a day,” Bunthita Wattanasiri, a manager for the Skin and Laser department at Lelax Hospital told the AFP.

According to the German news agency DPA, a Facebook entry on Wednesday from one of the clinic’s representatives that advertised the procedure had received over 6,800 reactions and 22,500 comments as of Thursday. At the time of writing, the Facebook post couldn’t be found, but this picture was still circulating from credible news sources:

According to the AFP, the process employs a laser to whiten the skin over five sessions for $20,000 Thai Baht ($621 US).

Skin whitening is big business. The BBC Thai Service reports that the whitening industry in the Asia-Pacific region measures up to about $ 2 billion a year. Advertisements for skin lightening treatments are shown widely on billboards and in newspapers, while pharmacies stock over-the-counter skin lightening products.

The cultural trend is attributed to an old-fashioned perception that darker skin implies being part of the working class, while lighter skin implies never having worked in the fields.

The BBC interviewed one patient, called ‘X’, who claimed that the treatment made him feel more confident, inexplicably say, “I wanted to feel more confident in my swimming briefs.”

On Thursday, the viral news of the Lelax treatment prompted Thailand’s public health ministry to issue a warning about penis whitening, saying it was dangerous, not worth the pain, and a waste of money.

Laser treatments break up the skin’s pigmentation, and the process can definitely be dangerous. The BBC Thai Service reports that if the power of the laser is high, it can cause redness, bloody sores, and subsequently possible infection. If the lasers are less intense, it could cause a freckling effect. For one of the body’s most sensitive areas, it seems especially not worth the risk.

Source : BBC

Commander of the Sri Lanka military is under pressure to probe his spy network to locate missing military records on a journalist abducted and disappeared eight years ago.

Prageeth Eknaligoda last seen on 24 January 2010 in the capital, a few days before the presidential election, had been abducted allegedly by military spies.

Shocked by a recent claim by the army chief that files on the case have gone missing, wife of Prageeth is calling for an investigation.

"If the files are destroyed, it is the commander's responsibility to conduct a thorough investigation and take legal action against officers who have got rid of evidence," Sandhya Eknaligoda said.

"We were not in charge of files with the military. If records with the military intelligence have been destroyed, it is clearly their work."

Investigators had earlier informed courts that members of military intelligence have taken Prageeth to an army camp in the north-central town of Giritale, 215 kilometres away from Colombo.

Not practical

Sri Lanka army commander said last week that it is not "practical" for records on the abduction of the journalist to last this long "if the military intelligence was intelligent".

"If someone is involved in this, if they are aware of an investigation, if it is the intelligence unit, aren't they intelligent?" Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake told the BBC.

In an attempt to deny his responsibility for the absence of vital evidence, Lt. Gen. Senanayake said that he was appointed as the head of the military in 2017.

The lawyer representing Sandhya says that the army commanders statement is ample proof that Sri Lanka military intelligence abducts people and destroys evidence.

"The statement by the army commander is very serious," Attorney at Law Upul Kumarapperuma said.

Who is he trying to protect? Aren't they members of the military intelligence who have allegedly abducted a person and made him disappear?"

No progress

Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake says that he has been "restricted" in helping the investigation on the abduction.

Sandhya Eknaligoda suspects that military officers suspected of abducting her husband has been given access to military records following their release on bail.

"It is the commander's responsibility to remove restrictions if any. Which means that he needs to find out who destroyed the evidence and take action against them."

Following his appointment as the Army Commander by the present government that came to power on a mandate of good governance, Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake pledged to take action against military personnel accused of committing crimes.

However, no progress of any probe against members of the armed forces accused of offences including war crimes and crimes against humanity has been reported so far.

Source : Journalists for Democracy Sri Lanka

A special sitting of Parliament would be convened on January 10 following a request made by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Acting Secretary General of Parliament Neil Iddawala said today.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had earlier said that he requested Speaker Karu Jayasuriya to convene Parliament to hold a debate on Bond Commission report.

The Prime Minister made this remark at the special UNP convention held at Campbell Park Borella yesterday.

Sri Lanka marked a significant milestone today (8) when the waters of the last but biggest reservoir of the multipurpose Mahaweli Project at Moragahakanda opened its sluice gates to irrigate parched dry lands in faraway Vanni in the Northern Province on one side and Rajarata, Wayamba, Central and Eastern Provinces on the other.

President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe declared open Moragahakanda a short while ago.

With the commissioning of the Moragahakanda-Kalu Ganga reservoir of the Kalu Ganga Dam, an increase of 64,000,000 cubic metres of water will flow from the reservoir to far flung regions including, the Vanni, Matale, Anuradhapura, Trincomalee and Polonnaruwa areas.

Water from both the Moragahakanda and Kalu Ganga reservoirs will be primarily used to support agricultural needs in an area of at least 81,422 hectares. This would increase rice production by 81% or 109,000 tons, amounting to an annual estimated monetary benefit of US$1.67 million.

In addition to the irrigation of land, water from the Moragahakanda Reservoir will be used to power the 25-megawatt Moragahakanda Hydroelectric Power Station.

President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe vested the Rajagiriya flyover with the public today (08), providing a long term solution for the heavy traffic congestion prevalent in the Rajagiriya area.

Considered as the longest flyover in Sri Lanka, it will comprise of four lanes with a total length of 533 meters and a total width of 21.4 meters.

In parallel to this project, plans are afoot to develop several roads around the Rajagiriya area as well as to develop an alternative road towards Narahenpita via Buthgamuwa.

Ministers Lakshman Kiriella, Champika Ranawaka, Vajira Abeywardena, Mahinda Amaraweera, Dilan Perera and Deputy Minister Harsha De Silva also participated on this occasion.

The 9th death anniversary of Lasantha Wickrematunge, the former editor of the Sunday Leader was marked today by a sombre gathering at his gravesite located at the Borella Cemetery. Family, friends, colleagues in the industry gathered in remembrance of him.

The brother of the slain editor Lal Wickrematunge, at the gathering today is said to have noted that the failure to bring to justice those responsible for the murder could even open the door to Prime suspect or suspects to be elected President or PM of our land at a future date.

The founding editor of The Sunday Leader, Lasantha Wickrematunge, who was also an Attorney-at-Law, was killed by unidentified assailants on Attidiya Road, as he drove to his newspaper office in Ratmalana. The investigation into his murder was re-opened by the Criminal Investigation Department in 2015 after remaining dormant for five years.

Co-Cabinet Spokesman, Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne, speaking yesterday at the 71st General Convention of the UNP at Campbell Park made startling revelations regarding the brutal assassination of Lasantha Wickrematunge.

“Lasantha was privy to confidential information emanating from a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ukranian government,” Minister Senaratne stated. “Lasantha knew of the extent of corruption and went on to publish an article on it, but couldn’t prove his claims later in a court case.”

The Minister added that the then government engineered a scheme to enter into a second MoU. “By this time, Lasantha gathered much more information and intended to publish an article. The government got to know and felt it would be better if they got rid of him before tabling the second MoU.”

Minister Senaratne said that the investigations were ongoing and that that he was confident of the Police bringing the culprits to book. In 2016, a military intelligence officer was arrested for abducting Wickematunge’s driver and intimidating him against implicating former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the assassination. Wickrematunge’s body was exhumed in September 2016, and it was revealed in courts that Lasantha died from a blunt blow to the head and that the cause of death certificate initially submitted to the court by the then Judicial Medical Officer Dr K. Sunil Kumara contained false and misleading statements.

The Chairman of the National Agency for Public Private Partnerships Thilan Wijesinghe is tipped to chair the Sri Lankan Airlines interim board, the Sunday Times reported today.

With the government accepting the resignations of the Board of Directors of the cash strapped airline, a new interim committee was preparing to take over amidst a shake-up in the airline's top management, informed sources said.