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The debate on the No-Confidence Motion (NCM) against Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen will be held on the 18th and 19th of June, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya informed parliament today.

It was reported that during the party leader’s meeting held yesterday, several opposition party leaders had voiced their displeasure over the dates of the debate. The Joint Opposition had demanded that the NCM debate be held on the 5th and 6th of June.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya however, pointed out it was not up to him to fix the dates and that it was up to the Government to do so in consultation with Party Leaders. 

Accordingly, the Speaker said the dates for the NCM debate for 18th and 19th of June and requested the opposition parties to accept it.

Meanwhile, Parliamentarian Mahindananda Aluthgamage, attending a media briefing yesterday, said that if the government postpones the no-confidence motion against Minister Bathiudeen, they would continue to obstruct the proceedings of the parliament.

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan has extended the date of ‘Allama Iqbal Scholarships’ till May 31 for as many as 1000 Sri Lankan students to study in the best higher educational institutions in the country.

According to the HEC official on Thursday, the scholarships would be provided under the Pakistan-Sri Lanka Higher Education Cooperation Programme.

The Scholarship offers full tuition fee of the Programme for study in Pakistani universities, accommodation allowance, study allowance, books allowance, and one-time return air-ticket, sources informed.

The official further informed that the scholarships were spread over next five years and provided an excellent opportunity for 1000 Sri Lankan students to visit Pakistan and pursue undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral degree programs in Engineering Science, Basic and Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences.

The programme aimed to promote an effective exchange of knowledge and better understanding of cultures and tradition between Sri Lankan and Pakistani students, he added.

The selected candidates will study in top-ranked Pakistani universities, learn about Pakistani society and values, acquire leadership skills, and help educate fellow Pakistani students and community groups about their country and culture, he said.

The Allama Iqbal Scholarships were part of HEC’s internationalization initiative to encourage international students to study in Pakistan. The women candidates were highly encouraged to apply for these scholarships.

The General Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) Venerable Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara thero has been granted a pardon by President Maithripala Sirisena.

Executive Director of the BBS, Dilanthe Withanage also confirmed the presidential pardon on his Facebook profile. 

It was reported that the Department of Prisons had sent a report with details pertaining to Gnanasara thero to the Presidential Secretariat yesterday. 

The President's Office had requested a detailed report including details on his behaviour in prison.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Thursday congratulated his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, as the BJP-led NDA government looks all set to form the government for the second term at the Centre. 

"Congratulations to @narendramodi on a magnificent victory! We look forward to working closely with you," Wickremesinghe tweeted.

As counting of the ballots for 542 Lok Sabha seats for the world's largest democracy is underway, the BJP seems to lead with 348 seats while the Indian National Congress is placed second in the list with 90 seats, as per the official Election Commission trends. 

In the 2014 general elections, the BJP had won 282 seats, 10 more than the halfway mark, on its own and crossed the 300-mark with its allies.

If the trends convert into seats, this would be the first time in more than 40 years in India that a party with a majority on its own will be coming back to power with a similar showing.

The Lok Sabha polls that commenced on April 11 and wrapped up on May 19, saw approximately 900 million voters exercising their right to franchise and deciding the fate of around 8,000 candidates across 542 seats in the country. Out of these candidates, 724 were women and four were transgenders. 

As announced by the Minister of Finance at the Budget – 2019, all public sector employees will be paid a special interim monthly allowance of Rs. 2500 effective from July 01, 2019. 

A circular in this regard has already been issued by the Ministry of Public Administration and Disaster Management with the consent of the Treasury to all Secretaries to Ministries, Chief Provincial Secretaries and the Heads of Departments, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement today.

A Finance Ministry spokesperson said that this new interim allowance will be in addition to the cost of living allowance of Rs 7800.00 that will be continued in the future.

As a result of this, the monthly salary of a lower grade government employee will increase from Rs. 11,730 in 2015 to Rs. 21,400 by 2020.

The United National Party (UNP) has decided to suspend the party membership of Rehan Jayawickrama for issuing statements critical of the party leadership.

Jayawickrama, who is the Mayor of Weligama, wrote to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe last Tuesday (14) requesting a change in the leadership of the grand old party. In his letter, Jayawickrama reiterates that he is only conveying the demands of the party and its supporters.

UNP General Secretary and Minister of Education Akila Viraj Kariyawasam said Jayawickrama was summoned to Sirikotha last week where a disciplinary inquiry was conducted. It was reported that the Mayor had agreed to refrain from issuing such statements in the future.

However, Jayawickrama has again issued statements to the media criticizing the leadership in violation of party discipline and hence his party membership was suspended according to the articles of the UNP constitution, Kariyawasam said in a letter addressed to Jayawickrama.

The General Secretary stated that further action will be taken once the matter is taken up at the UNP Working Committee meeting.

A copy of the letter sent by UNP General Secretary to Weligama Mayor is found below.

The Permanent High Court-at-Bar has decided to commence hearing the case filed against the former Secretary to the Ministry Defence, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in connection to the misappropriation of public funds used to construct the D.A. Rajapaksa Museum, on the 19th of June.

The order was delivered by the three-judge bench comprising judges Sampath Abeykoon, Sampath Wijeratne, and Champa Janaki Rajaratne this morning (23).

The Special High Court also issued summons on four defendants of the case to appear before the court on the 19th of June.

The Attorney General had filed the case against Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the former Chairman of Land Reclamation and Development Authority (LRDA) Prasad Harshana de Silva and five others for allegedly misappropriating state funds amounting to Rs 49 million for the construction of the D.A. Rajapaksa Museum and Memorial in Medamulana.

Sri Lanka snapped an eight-match one-day international losing streak ahead of the World Cup with a 35-run win over Scotland in a rain-affected match in Edinburgh on Tuesday. 

The Scots may not have qualified for the World Cup but last year beat tournament hosts and favourites England to prove they were well capable of causing an upset.

Saturday's opener had been abandoned without a ball being bowled due to rain, but the teams had better luck with the weather second time.

Dimuth Karunaratne, the new Sri Lanka captain top-scored with 77 in a total of 322 for eight -- just his second fifty at this level and first since he reached the landmark against Scotland on the same ground back in 2011.

It was one of three fifties on the innings, including opening partner Avishka Fernando's maiden ODI half-century.

But both batsmen men dropped off Brad Wheal, Karunaratne at first slip on 13 and Avishka on 22 at mid-off.

Karunaratne received a third life on 36 when Calum MacLeod couldn't hang on to a sharp chance at midwicket off left-arm spinner Mark Watt.

Sri Lanka pace bowler Nuwan Pradeep then took four wickets as Scotland slumped either side of being set a rain-revised target of 235, needing 103 off seven overs, and were bowled out for 199.

The ration and other allowances paid to all officers and other ranks in the Tri – Services have been increased by the government, the Ministry of Finance said today.  

Some of these allowances had not been increased for over the last 20 years.

Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera via Budget 2019 had proposed to increase the uniform allowance, rental allowance, the good performance allowance and the commando allowance of the armed forces. 

Accordingly, the monthly ration allowance paid to the officers of the Tri-Forces has been increased up to Rs. 23,231 and of other ranks up to Rs 19,350 with effect from January 2019.

The General Treasury last week granted its approval for the increase of the ration allowance following the calculation made by the Department of Census and Statistical on the list of goods included in the ration by the Sri Lanka Army.

In the meantime, the following allowances will be increased from the July 01,2019. 

• The rental allowance paid to all Tri Services personnel will be increased by 100 percent. 

• The Commando allowance, which is applicable to equal ranks in the Sri Lanka Navy and the Air force too will be increased from Rs 1000.00 to Rs 5000.00 per month. 

Furthermore, the Good Conduct allowance and the uniform up keeping allowance too will be increased by a substantial percentage. The Management Services Circular No 02 0f 2019, in this regard, was issued by the Treasury on May 21, to the relevant authorities.

Sri Lankan social networks saw a surge in fake news after the Easter suicide bombings a month ago despite an official social media blackout, highlighting the inability of governments to contain disinformation, experts said.

A nine-day ban on platforms including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and WhatsApp was introduced following the Islamic State-claimed attacks on churches and hotels on April 21 which killed 258 people and wounded nearly 500.

Many anxious social media users switched to virtual private networks (VPNs) or the TOR network to bypass the order and keep communication open with friends and relatives as the extent of the carnage became clear.
Authorities in Sri Lanka have banned Facebook in the past in a bid to prevent hardliners from using social media to ignite violence (AFP Photo/ISHARA S. KODIKARA)

But for others, the tools were a means to spread confusion and vitriol as the island struggled to come to terms with one of the worst terror attacks in its history.

Sanjana Hattotuwa, who monitors social media for fake news at the Centre for Policy Alternatives in Colombo, said the government blackout had failed to prevent "engagement, production, sharing and discussion of Facebook content", and that he had seen a significant increase in false reports.

Old coffins

AFP has published half a dozen fact-checks debunking false claims made on Facebook and Twitter after the Easter attacks.

Some had dug out photos of coffins and funerals from Sri Lanka's brutal decades-long civil war and claimed they showed victims of the blasts.

One video posted to Facebook showed police arresting a man dressed in a burqa and claimed he was involved in the bombings. The video was actually from 2018, and showed a man who had used a burqa to hide his identity while he sought to attack someone over a debt issue.

Another used a five-year-old photo from India that showed a group of men wearing T-shirts with "ISIS", another name for Islamic State, written on them to claim there was an active IS cell in eastern Sri Lanka.

One Twitter user claiming to be a high-ranking Sri Lankan army brigadier used the platform to accuse neighbouring India of being involved in the attacks. The account was later taken down by Twitter after the Sri Lankan army complained.

Authorities in Sri Lanka -- where ethnic divisions still linger after decades of war -- previously blocked Facebook in March 2018 after Buddhist hardliners used incendiary posts to fan religious violence that left three people dead and reduced several hundred homes and shops to ashes.

The surge in fake news has further blemished the troubled reputation of social media -- which several years ago had been seen as a means to expand freedom of information -- in the region.

In India, authorities have temporarily shut down mobile networks or blocked social media apps during riots, while critics say the spread of hate speech via Facebook was crucial in facilitating a brutal 2017 military crackdown on the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar.

Since the attacks, Sri Lankan authorities have imposed other short bans on social media, including earlier this month after mobs in the northwestern town of Chilaw attacked Muslim-owned businesses in anger at a Facebook post by a shopkeeper.

No answer 

But for those unaware of the government ban or unable to circumvent it, the blocking of social media in the days following the attacks was a cause for panic.

A Sydney-based engineer was desperate to call his sister in Colombo soon after hearing about the Easter blasts, but could not get through.

"I kept calling her on WhatsApp, but there was no reply. We are so used to calling on WhatsApp, I had forgotten her landline number," the Sri Lankan-born engineer said.

Fortunately, he said, he managed to call a friend in Colombo who was using a VPN to access WhatsApp and told him about the social media ban that prevented him from reaching his sister.