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Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera giving a statement regarding the Presidential candidate from the UNP noted that for the past 25 years, the UNP has not had a presidential candidate of their own. He noted that even though a UNP government was in power for the past five years, they failed to provide solutions to the problems faced by each electorate.

The minister added that it is with great expectations that all UNPers hope for a president to be elected from the UNP. He said the presidential candidate should not only be a UNPer, but must also be able to win the upcoming elections.

In a twitter message, Samaraweera said that the "United National Party must reaffirm its commitment to a united Sri Lanka that belongs to all Sri Lankans as envisaged by its founder D.S.Senanayake under a Sajith Premadasa presidency."

He went onto note that in his point of view, it is Minister Sajith Premadasa who has the popularity to win and it is he who possesses all the characteristics required to succeed. However, he said they do not imply that the current leader should be removed from his position.

Minister Samaraweera stated that they have no issue on who comes forward as the candidate from the opposition, even if it is a Rajapaksa. He pointed out that the political struggle within the Rajapaksa family is similar to the game of musical chairs and regardless of who comes forward from the opposition, Sajith Premadasa will win.

He added that in line with his victory, they should be able to carry forward the vision of Ranil Wickremesinghe and D.S. Senanayaka as well. He noted that when all political parties promote extremism, it is only the UNP that stands to uphold democracy in the country.

must reaffirm it's commitment to a #UnitedSrilanka belonging to all Sri Lankans as envisaged by it's founder D.S.Senanayake under a @sajithpremadasa presidency

The Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) probing the Easter Sunday attacks has stated that it will take SLFP General Secretary, MP Dayasiri Jayasekara to court if he fails to appear before the committee despite being issued summons on two occasions.

Jayasekara was summoned before the PSC last week and due to his absence, the committee decided to issue summons for him once more. The PSC will have its next hearing on 10 July.

Deputy Speaker of Parliament and Chair of the PSC Ananda Kumarasiri has said if the MP fails to appear, legal action will be taken against him.

“We are giving the former Minister another chance on 10 July to appear at the PSC hearings. If he decides not to show up, we will take legal action against him,” he has stated.

Meanwhile, Jayasekara has stated that he was yet to obtain some clarifications from the Speaker of Parliament on several parliamentary Standing Orders.

“There are several clarifications over the topics that are discussed at the PSC hearings and there are subjugates. There are five cases against the head of the state and the relevant authorities. The Attorney General Dappula Livera, in a letter to the President, stated that there are concerns over the issues raised by the committee over the case that is progressing in the Supreme Court.”

According to Jayasekara, the Speaker needed to give a ruling and table the letter that the President’s Secretary had sent in relation to the PSC proceedings.

He has also stated that once the proceedings commenced in the Parliament, some of the issues itemized on these letters needed to be submitted to Parliament.

“The Speaker of the Parliament should give us a ruling saying that these are not sub judice. Minister Laskhman Kiriella on Friday raised an issue on the PSC hearings, stating that the Parliament was not abiding by judicial style proceedings. We, as the Parliament, have passed standing orders within the parliamentary rules, and if we are to violate the rules of the Parliament, I fail to understand how these proceedings need to be conducted,” Jayasekara has added.

Sri Lanka's state-owned Marine Environment Protection Authority on Wednesday warned that the country only had 10 per cent of live coral reefs in its oceans as 90 per cent had died due to pollution, illegal fishing methods and excessive climate change.

Dr Terney Pradeep Kumara, General Manager of the marine authority, told Xinhua news agency that urgent steps must be taken by the government to mark the remaining live coral reefs as "highly protected areas" and measures must be taken to move these live corals to deeper seas.

He said Sri Lanka, rich in coral reefs, had lost 90 per cent of its corals in recent years mainly due to illegal fishing methods such as bottom trawling and dynamite blasting, excessive climate change and high levels of pollution dumped into the seas.

"We urgently now need to save the remaining 10 per cent. At present, what we are observing is that the remaining 10 per cent is also facing a lot of difficulty due to high temperature levels.

"Therefore we expect all government agencies, private agencies and all the environmentalists to get together and help the government declare these reefs as highly protected areas and help transfer the living corals to deep areas to keep them alive," he added.

Kumara said that by saving the remaining live corals, they would stay alive for decades which would help Sri Lanka attract more tourists which would strengthen the economy and the bio diversity of the country.

Sri Lanka’s president said Monday he had rejected a telephone appeal by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to reconsider his push to reintroduce the death penalty after 43 years.

“I told the Secretary General that I want to save my country from drugs,” Maithripala Sirisena told a meeting in Colombo to mark his anti-narcotics drive.

“He telephoned me last week shortly after I signed four death warrants. I told him to please allow me to stamp out the drug menace,” Sirisena said.

Sirisena told reporters on Wednesday that he had signed death warrants for four drug offenders, but did not give their names nor say when and where the executions would be carried out.

He accused the European Union of interfering in the internal affairs of his country, saying that EU diplomats had threatened him with tariffs if Sri Lanka went ahead with the executions.

“The EU told me that they will withdraw the GSP Plus (tariff concession) if I go ahead,” Sirisena said. “This is interfering with the sovereignty and independence of our country. It is unacceptable.”

He also took a swipe at Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and at non-governmental organisations that had criticised him over his stance.

Wickremesinghe had on Sunday said that a majority of parliament members were against Sirisena’s decision to resume executions.

Sirisena faces several court challenges to his decision to restore the death penalty.

In the latest case filed in the Supreme Court Monday, the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) noted it was long recognised that hanging by death was a cruel and inhuman form of punishment, not befitting a multi-religious and civilised society.

“Though convicts have been sentenced to death, the long recognised practice in Sri Lanka for over 43 years has been that they were not executed,” the CPA’s executive director Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu said.

Justice ministry sources said they were yet to fill the vacancies for two hangmen, although 26 candidates had been shortlisted for the job.

An executioner was in the post until his retirement in 2014 although no hangings were carried out since June 1976. Three replacements since have quit after short stints at the unused gallows.

Sirisena’s office has said the president wanted the hangings to send a powerful message to anyone engaged in the illegal drugs trade.

Sirisena said there were 200,000 drug addicts in the country, and 60 percent of the 24,000-strong prison population were drug offenders. (AFP)

Re-enforcing the death penalty on judgments given by the judiciary is a power vested with the executive says President Maithripala Sirisena.

Sirisena has made this statement at the Cabinet meeting held yesterday (2).

However, the President has added that the matter cannot be further discussed since there was a court case on the re-enforcement of capital punishment.

The President has made this observation when the possible impact to the country’s economy if the moratorium on the death penalty is removed was discussed at the Cabinet meeting.

However, the President has responded saying that implementing the death penalty is a power vested with his office.

Aon, a global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions, has launched a blockchain platform for agricultural insurance policies for smallholder farmers in Sri Lanka.

The blockchain platform, which has been developed in partnership with Oxfam in Sri Lanka and InsurTech startup Etherisc, will reportedly deliver micro-insurance to smallholder paddy field farmers in Sri Lanka who are at risk of losing their crops due to extreme weather. The platform will automate the insurance products to directly address major barriers that prevent farmers from utilizing insurance, including the lack of affordable and reliable insurance products, a lack of understanding about how insurance would help a farmer survive, and when and how a claim would be paid.

“Strong collaboration, such as this initiative with Oxfam and Etherisc, allows us to broaden the potential positive impact we can have on people, families and small businesses around the globe,” said Hugo Wegbrans, the Chief Broking Officer of Europe, Middle East & Africa for Aon. “At the heart of our work is a mission to empower economic and human possibility – and that is exactly what we are doing here.”

According to the firms, blockchain’s ability to automate the insurance products eliminates the need for farmers to submit a claim, and, at the same time, the insurer does not need to send a claims adjuster into the field.

“Farmers represent a third of the workforce and account for almost 20 percent of the economy, yet very few have insurance,” said Michiel Berende, the Chief Inclusive Officer at Etherisc. “This made Sri Lanka a perfect candidate to feel the benefits of decentralized, collaborative and automated insurance. This alliance is really a cooperation between all and showcases blockchain for social good.”

In addition to simplifying the claims process, the blockchain platform will also help reduce administration costs and, subsequently, a higher percentage of premiums will be used for claims payment and immediate, fully trusted pay-out.

“Allowing farmers to access the blockchain platform is an important milestone that is bringing an effective and affordable risk transfer mechanism to a large portion of the Sri Lanka economy,” said Bojan Kolundzija, the Country Director of Oxfam in Sri Lanka.

President Maithripala Sirisena says there are many forces working against him and that there is a threat to his life due to the consistent programme carried out by him to crackdown on the drug mafia.

The President has said in Polonnaruwa yesterday (2) that measures to hamper his programme are being carried out with the funding of drug lords.

According to the President there are many going before courts to obstruct his programme to crackdown on the drug mafia and the so-called human rights masons (baas) are trying to safeguard these drug lords and drug peddlers.

Sirisena has added that there were many social media platforms along with the government, opposition and NGOs that are rallying together in favour of the drug lords.

The issue of political prisoners in the country is to be taken up by the Cabinet of Ministers shortly.

Accordingly, a Cabinet paper on the matter is to be submitted to resolve the issue over Tamil political prisoners arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

Minister of National Integration, Official Languages, Social Progress, and Hindu Religious Affairs Mano Ganesan has said that he will submit the relevant Cabinet seeking approval to rehabilitate the Tamil political prisoners and release them.

The Cabinet paper is now being drafted and is to be presented for approval over the next couple of weeks.

According to the Minister, he is to propose that the Tamil political prisoners be wither released or rehabilitated for a period of six months before releasing them.

He has added that the Tamil political prisoner issue needs to be addressed urgently as it is a very sensitive one and that a Tamil political prisoner had died after spending 15 years in prison.

Former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara, who were supposed to appear before the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) yesterday (2) to record statements related to the probe on the Easter Sunday attacks, have been hospitalized.

Fernando has been admitted to the Intensive-Care Unit (ICU) of the Cardiology Unit at the National Hospital in Colombo.

Jayasundara meanwhile has been hospitalized at the Police Hospital in Narahenpita over a sudden illness. Jayasundara is currently on compulsory leave.

Meanwhile, the Attorney General (AG) has directed the Acting IGP to name Jayasundara and Fernando as suspects of the Easter attacks.

Further, the AG has requested the Acting IGP to produce them before courts.

The SriLankan Airlines management has come under fire for its plans to relocate its marketing department currently based at the World Trade Centre (WTC) in Colombo to Katunayake as part of its cost-cutting exercise.

SriLankan Airlines sources have said they believe the decision would result in a decline in productivity and efficiency in day-to-day operations.

According to reports, the airline’s marketing department was shifted to Colombo in 2011 with the aim of increasing its promotional activities and thereby, increasing revenue.

The airline had in 2011 decided to base its marketing office in Colombo since all the clients and agencies dealing with the airline’s marketing department were based in Colombo, and also that the necessary facilities to carry out promotional activities and advertising were not available at the Katunayake office were also considered.

After shifting the marketing department to Colombo, a considerable rise in efficiency in routine activities had been recorded, and clients were in a position to fulfill their tasks with ease.

However, according to airline sources, the decision to shift the department back to Katunayake had been taken by the management due to the high rent cost at WTC.

Explaining further, an airline employee who wished to remain anonymous has pointed out that cost-cutting decisions should be made in a skilful manner, minimising the effect on the day-to-day activities of the department and the level of service given to its clientele.

SriLankan Airlines has recorded a loss of Rs. 40 billion in the financial year 2017/2018, the highest annual loss since Emirates’ departure from its management in 2008.

For the nine months ended 31 December 2018, the national carrier’s losses have grown to its highest level in 11 years, eclipsing the previous record of Rs. 32.4 billion recorded in 2014.

The loss incurred in this period was a negative growth of 27.7% from the Rs. 28.9 billion in losses incurred in the financial year 2017/2018.

The United Sates insisted that they have no plans to establish a military base in Sri Lanka.

US ambassador in Sri Lanka, Alaina B.Teplitz, in a twitter message said the negotiation on the Visiting Forces Agreement is aimed to facilitate cooperation and any agreement will respect the sovereignty of Sri Lanka.

“Blatant misinformation. There is no plan or intention to establish a US base in Sri Lanka. VFA negotiations only aim to facilitate cooperation and any agreement will fully respect the sovereignty of,” Telpitz tweeted.

Her comments came in the wake of concerns raised by various parties over the proposed agreement.

Meanwhile, US Embassy Spokesperson Nancy VanHorn said on Sunday that Sri Lanka would retain all sovereign rights to approve or deny entry or exit of US personnel, vessels, and aircraft into Sri Lanka’s territory and territorial waters/airspace.

She recalled that in 1995, the US and Sri Lanka concluded the agreement on the status of US Department of Defence (DoD) military personnel and civilian employees who visit Sri Lanka for exercises or official duties.

“We have proposed amending this agreement to include some additional privileges, such as the mutual recognition of professional licenses, how US military personnel and DoD civilians can visit Sri Lanka, fees for support services rendered, and regulations for hiring foreign and local contractors. These updates will streamline processes that are already in place and will facilitate collaboration with the Sri Lankan military on counterterrorism practices, maritime security, and other issues of common concern,” she said.

The political biography of Minister Mangala Samaraweera covering his political career spanning three decades will be launched at 3.00 pm on July 7 at thhe Rabindranath Tagore Auditorium at the University of Ruhuna.

The book has been compiled by veteran writer Nihal Jagathchandra based on the Minister’s life.

The keynote address will be delivered by veteran political critic and journalist Victor Ivan centered on the theme - “30 years of Sri Lankan Politics”.

It is also noteworthy to mention that the favoured presidential candidate of the United National Party (UNP), its deputy leader Sajith Premadasa, as well as a number of Muslim and Tamil political leaders, have been invited to attend the book launch.

The event had previously been scheduled for April 21 to coincide with the Minister’s birthday. However, it was postponed following the Easter Sunday attacks.