Dec 1 (DN) While the Parliament is heating up, with the committee stage debate on the budget in full swing, the SLFP, led by President Sirisena is preparing for a major membership drive. The move comes in the wake of the Joint Opposition�s decision to form a new party under the leadership of G.L. Peiris who functions as a proxy for former President Rajapaksa. SLFP�s membership drive will start on Dec 4 in every district, with the participation of party MPs supporting President Sirisena more..

Dec 1 (CT) Preparing for the future by looking back. Understanding the issues and options before us. Sri Lanka like all other nations, is faced with a difficult future in terms of climate change, we need to understand the oncoming changes very clearly so that the right options can be implemented. The myth of growth by consumption has exposed us all to a dangerously changing climate. But Sri Lanka is unique in being the only nation whose ancestors had future-proofed our present. more..

Dec 1 (SO) Fishermen from the coastal districts of India and Sri Lanka have used the sea around the Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar, for traditional fishing, until the signing of the IMBL agreement in 1974 and 1976, which is clearly demarcated, mutually agreed upon and legally binding, separating the territorial waters of the two countries. Tamil Nadu fishermen changed their fishing methods in the late 1970s and more..

Dec 1 (CT) The current focus on reforming the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act, which is long overdue, is only one of several gender discriminatory issues with which Muslim women not only in SL but also in other parts of the world are grappling with. In this struggle, which women are destined to win eventually, there are some fundamental issues that should be understood by concerned public. When the Quran introduced and the Prophet and after him his immediate more..

Dec 1 (DN) More than six decades have passed since the first appearance of the Sinhala novel, much discussed, titled as Viragaya (Dispassion), written by veteran writer Martin Wickramasinghe. For several years, Viragaya happened to be a prescribed text at the higher examinations in language and literature. This too came to be translated by the late English Professor Ashley Halpe as The Way of the Lotus. I found that some of the scholars disliked the title as it perhaps more..

Dec 1 (CT) UNP MP, J.C. Alawathuwala says that large loans were obtained during Govt of Mahinda Rajapaksa, and they did not invest those in anything. "If expenditure was incurred there should have been an income. Even though Mattala Airport, Hambantota Port, Conference Halls and Cricket Stadia were built using those loans worth billions, there was no income from them. The expenditure was for maintenance. more..

Dec 1 (CT) Decision made to hear the case against Mahinda. This news was reported in a newspaper on 23 Nov. When considering this in relation to some of the statements made by Mahinda up to now, this is in fact a victory of Mahinda's. What Mahinda kept saying up to now was that if he had committed any offence he should be punished. Where...was I taken into custody?, Where...were we made offenders?, Were crimes proved? These were things that were said by Mahinda faction. more..

Dec 1 (Island) Santa seems to have got his wires crossed. Else, he would not have landed near the Diyawanna Oya several weeks ahead of Christmas. Usually, he favours children, but this time around he seems to have given priority to those who have torsos of adults and brains of children. MPs have received a massive increase in their allowances and a huge pay hike is said to be in the pipeline. The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe govt came to power, promising economic relief to the masses. more..

Dec 1 (DM) Another bombshell in the form of a proposed pay hike for MPs has jolted the tax payer. more fittingly it could be called as bombshell because it is coming hot on the heels of the Govt. imposing a variety of indirect and direct taxes on the people through the recent budget and ubiquitous Gazette notifications. It adds insult to injury when Parliament itself is debating the issue of providing leased-out second vehicles to MPs who are doing so-called development work more..

Dec 1 (Island) PM has recently spoken in Parliament of the need to substantially increase salaries of our legislators. He is of the view current salaries are grossly inadequate. PM believes higher salaries will reduce corruption and attract better talent to the legislature. As of today, an MP earns a salary of Rs 54,285. Allowances are paid based on Rs 1,000 for entertainment, Rs 3,500 for a chauffeur, Rs 2,000 for a mobile phone and Rs 500 for each time he or she attends parliamentary sittings. more..

Dec 1 (FT) Sri Lanka needs to consolidate its existing laws against harassment and computer crimes in order to introduce one single, all-encompassing law to fight cyber bullying and online harassment of women and children, as the Computer Crimes Act falls short on addressing cyber bullying or cyber violence, an expert panel declared yesterday. Speaking at a policy discussion on cyber security more..

Dec 1 (ST) Amidst a partly-averted courtroom drama between siblings, the audit that the Sri Lanka Accounting and Auditing Standards Monitoring Board asked Browns Group, the new owners of Agalawatte Plantations, to do on Agalawatte will be completed by next month, sources said. This is in a bid to examine the statements of liabilities in the company, according to them. �They want to see the exact position in this company and quantify their assets and liabilities,� a source said. more..

Dec 1 (LBO) Sri Lanka�s budget for 2017 is headed in the right direction, especially in terms of primary deficit reduction, Eteri Kvintradze, resident representative of IMF, said. Kvintradze was speaking at Economic & Business Climate Outlook 2017 which saw a full house of corporate leaders, researchers and academics. �Revenue based fiscal consolidation is a central reform issue in Sri Lanka. Revenue has been one of the major structural deficiencies in this economy,� she said. more..

Dec 1 (CC) Sri Lanka's Test and One-Day International (ODI) captain Angelo Mathews was honored by the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) with the Cricketer of the Year award. In an star studded ceremony held in Colombo, Test and ODI captain Angelo Mathews was honored by SLC with the Cricketer of the Year 2015 award. Mathews has been missing in action from international cricket due to multiple injuries on the leg. more..

Dec 1 (DN) The 2nd South Asian Sepaktakraw Championship will be hosted by Sri Lanka in January next year. The Amateur Sepaktakraw Association of Sri Lanka was selected to host the event at the second annual general meeting of the South Asian Sepaktakraw Federation (SASTAF), held in Hyderabad, India on June 23. SASTAF was established in 2011 in Bangkok with the participation of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh. more..

Dec 1 (Island) Sri Lanka - USA Business Council, which has been just established, will help promote trade and investment between the two countries, whose bilateral relations are at an all time high, US ambassador to SL Atul Keshap said. "SL�s economy is set to grow strongly with the island ideally placed on the international sea routes across the Indian Ocean. Therefore, the US believes that these geographical advantages would help SL to become one of the prosperous nations in the region, more..

Dec 1 (DN) Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara said it is unfair to level allegations against Sports Ministry tender board by the rejected Tender holders of Sugathadasa synthetic running track restoration, as they can appeal to the Procurement Authority at first, if the Tender Board has acted partially. �I inquired into the matter after I saw news paper articles exposed the rejected contractors� side of the story. I do not know whether the tender more..

Dec 1 (Bernama) Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) and University of Moratuwa plan to establish cooperation in various fields of study, especially engineering. The two universities signed the letter of intent (LOI) when a delegation from UniMAP led by the Perlis Raja Muda, Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail visited the university, located in a large suburb of Colombo city and regarded as the most sought-after technological university in Sri Lanka. more..

Dec 1 (Sportal) After two comfortable wins on the trot against Nepal and Thailand, Sri Lanka now face an uphill task of beating defending champions India in the bid to keep their final hopes alive at the business end of the 2016 ACC Women�s Asia Cup T20 in Bangkok. Even though there remain a host of other possibilities, mathematically speaking, one wouldn�t bet their money on underdogs Nepal and Thailand staging an upset later against India and Pakistan respectively. more..

Dec 1 (FT) Cabinet this week has approved a major revamp and the development of essential utility services and infrastructure in the Western Province. Based on a proposal by Minister Champika Ranawaka, the Govt will develop utility services and extend the main road network of the region, in anticipation of the increased demand. The total cost for the improvements had not been estimated yet. more..

Dec 1 (CT) Political stability of the SL Podu Jana Peramuna, under the leadership of G.L. Peris, is doubtful, stated Chief Minister for Western Province Isuru Devapriya. He said, the intention behind G L demanding to obtain membership of the SLFP at any instance that they appeal is to have a backup plan. CM further stated that the situation of the new party, under any circumstance cannot be compared to that of President Sirisena when he became the chairman of SLFP after Jan 8 Prez Election. more..

Dec 1 (DM) According to Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, less than 30 hotels operating in the country pay taxes, which, if it is an accurate assessment, create concerns over leading hoteliers in the formal sector requesting the informal sector operators to pay taxes. �We have almost 500-600 hotels and of that maybe 25-30 that pay taxes. So making the taxation from 14 to 28% doesn�t affect anybody,� Karunanayake told a top tourism forum in Colombo this week.� more..

Dec 1 (CT) The Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) accused the govt of engaging in a conspiracy to deport their Politburo Member Kumar Gunaratnam, who had been imprisoned for almost a period of one year, once he completes his sentence. Gunaratnam was sentenced to one year in prison on 31 March last year by Magistrate of Kegalle, for the offence of violating Immigration and Emigration laws of this country. more..

Dec 1 (DM) Directly engaging with the coconut farmers for the first time, Nestle Lanka donated 5,000 hybrid plantlets to 1,000 coconut farming families and initiated the development of a model coconut farm in Nikaweratiya recently. They will be initiating a similar project in Kebithigollewa as well donating 10,000 plantlets altogether across�150 acres. Minister Navin Dissanayake said their aim is to double the coconut production up to 5,000 mil in next 5-6 years which is 3,000 mil�at present. more..

Dec 1 (DM) At the 16th SAARC Summit held in Thimphu, Bhutan, from April 28 to 29, 2010, the SAARC leaders called for collaborative efforts to achieve greater intra-regional connectivity and endorsed the recommendation to declare 2010-2020 as the Decade of Intra-regional Connectivity�in SAARC.�In line with the mandate given by the SAARC leaders, the fourth meeting of the SAARC Inter-Governmental Group on Transport held in New Delhi, India on Nov 22, 2010, considered more..

Dec 1 (DN) Controversy is brewing over five Facebook profiles operating in the name of former MP Duminda Silva, who is currently serving a death sentence for murder. As persons serving death sentences are not allowed communication with the outside world, the former MP�s Facebook profiles, which have been updated even after his incarceration, have thrown prison authorities into hot water. more..

Dec 1 (Island) Lanka IOC making a price revision said that due to increase in Custom (LKR 6=00 per litre in Diesel) & Excise Import Duty (LKR 10=00 per in past months and changes in international prices, they have to make changes in RSP of two branded products being marketed by them , these are specialized branded fuels addressing the needs of niche customers, Infact earlier they had decreased the price of branded fuels w.e.f. 2nd March 2016 by Rs 4.00 per litre in XTRAPREMIUM Euro3 more..

Dec 1 (FT) The budget proposal to establish a pension scheme for Sri Lankan migrant workers and appointing of the select committee to establish voting rights for Sri Lankan migrant workers were commended yesterday in Parliament. Opposition lawmaker Sunil Handunnetti, who was keen to uphold the rights of migrant workers, upheld the contribution made in terms of foreign currency. �The domestic tax system helps to run the country, but the foreign currency required to pay the debt more..

Dec 1 (DN) Cabinet approval was granted to set up a new airline service in partnership with Sri Lanka Airforce (SLAF). The project will be a public-private partnership with proposals being called for from private investors to commence the airline service. Minister Karunaratne Paranawithana said there was a need for capital investment in the domestic civil aviation field to expand the service to other parts of the country. more..

Dec 1 (DM) The Govt should not think it has fooled the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), MP M A Sumanthiran told Parliament yesterday. "Don't think you have fooled us just because we support you on constitutional reforms and vote in favour of the budget," he said. He said the government should expedite the process of devolving power and honour its promise to the international community. He urged the government to set up an office to probe disappearances. more..

Dec 1 (Island) A doctors� strike crippled the Out Patient Departments (OPDs) and clinics around the country yesterday despite Health Minister Dr Rajitha Senaratne�s claim that his Ministry was prepared to meet any situation. National Hospital Deputy Director, Dr Cyril de Silva said doctors had attended to all emergencies and essential services of the hospital and patients had also been admitted. However, 15 to 20 clinics for follow-up patients had been cancelled. more..

Dec 1 (Island) SLTB has said it will deploy more buses in view of today�s private bus strike. SLTB Chairman said normally around 5,300 state-owned buses operated countrywide, but the SLTB would have on standby 6,000 buses to meet any emergency. "Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva held a special discussion yesterday to discuss arrangement to overcome the difficulties in case of a private bus strike," he said, more..

Dec 1 (DN) Minister Rajitha Senaratne has ordered the Health Ministry�s Medical Supplies Division to suspend the type of dye used for the four heart patients who died, Health Ministry sources said. According to sources, the use of the dye, (Non ionic contrast media for cardio angiography for adults 100 ML) will be temporarily halted in all hospitals. National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) has commenced an investigation on the dye imported from European countries. more..

Dec 1 (FT) Supreme Court postponed the contempt proceedings against MP Namal Rajapaksa for 16 Jan. The bench, comprising Chief Justice K. Sripavan and Justice Buwaneka Aluvihara, postponed the matter because Justice Priyasath Dep was not present. SC on 15 Sept directed the Bribery Commission to file charges against Rajapaksa on or before 3 Oct for the alleged offence of contempt of Bribery Commission. Court rejected preliminary objections raised by Rajapaksa. more..

Dec 1 (CT) The GMOA called a one-day islandwide strike yesterday to protest against several 2017 Budgetary proposals. GMOA brings out concerns relating to the new contributory pension scheme introduced by the govt, proposed taxation on the professionals, accepting aid from tobacco companies to fatten the President's Fund, privatization of the health services and permitting foreigners to render their services in SL. more..

Dec 1 (DM) After the new govt took office in January last year with a commitment to restore good governance, democracy and a just society, media freedom also has been restored to a large extent. Yet a conflict if not a crisis situation appears to be arising now mainly because of alleged misdeeds by govt leaders or members and the alleged abuse of freedom by some journalists or sections of the media. ��President in recent months has been strongly hitting out at sections of the media, more..

Dec 1 (DM) Kadireshan Ravishankar, a 34-year-old barber and father of four, alleges he was tortured by the Hatton HQI on Sept 23. He was working at his brother, Kadireshan Simson� salon - CS Saloon - when he was called to give a haircut to the Hatton HQI. Grappling with abject poverty, Ravishankar has now been forced to battle against the added burden of social stigma after surviving police torture.��At around 7 p.m., two police officers in plain attire came to our salon and asked me to more..

Dec 1 (ST) The Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers (CEBEU) say constructing power plants and transmission line requires long term planning. �Going beyond such plans would end up in repercussions, where it is not easy to come out of the mess,� CEBEU Chief Athula Wanniarachchi said. He added: �In 2018/19, we are going to face major power crises as the govt failed to implement (Long Term Generation Expansion more..

Dec 1 (DM) Minister Wijedasa Rajapakshe PC had recently become a cynosure after he expressed his opinions on several controversial subjects. He shared the following views.�Q: It is said that you are the first Presidents Counsel (PC) hailing from Hambantota? A: No, there had been a Queens�s Counsel by the name Vernon Wijetunga. Q: After Queens Counsel changing its name in the process, you must be the first person to have more..